Vuong Van Tha
Vương Văn Thả
Current Status: Deceased
Date of Birth: 1969
Gender: M
Religion: Buddhist (Hòa Hảo)
Ethnicity: Kinh
Known Prison(s):
An Phuoc detention center, Binh Duong province (January 23, 2018 - present)
Activist Focus:
- Religious freedom
Details
Immediate Concerns
On the morning of September 3, 2025, Vinh Hau commune police in An Phu district, An Giang province, notified Vương Thanh Binh, Tha’s cousin, that Tha had died in An Phuoc prison, Binh Dương, allegedly by suicide. The police provided no further details and instructed the family to visit the prison for the autopsy. Tha’s daughter, Vuong Ngoc Thao, spoke with Project88 on September 3, expressing skepticism about the suicide claim, noting that Tha had repeatedly said he would never harm himself. This marks at least the fifth death of a political prisoner in prison in recent years under unknown or suspicious circumstances, following Do Cong Duong, Dao Quang Thuc, Doan Dinh Nam, and Huynh Huu Dat. As with some of those cases, Tha was buried at the prison against the wishes of his family.
On September 4, Tha's residence was under intense surveillance, with the external security camera destroyed by police. They instructed the family to cease publishing statements regarding Tha's death. Thao's closest friend, upon hearing the news of Tha's death and visiting the family, was detained by police for several hours. The authorities warned that continued public discussion about Tha's death could lead to the arrest of his son, Vuong Van Thuan, who was sentenced to seven years at the same time as Tha and remains on probation.
Background
Vuong Van Tha is a Hoa Hao Buddhist.
Family Situation
Tha's son (Vuong Van Thuan) and two nephews (Nguyen Nhat Thuong and Nguyen Nhat Truong) were sentenced to seven and six years each, respectively, at the same time as Tha's trial.
Sentenced to 3 years in prison under Art. 258 (1999 Code). Released October, 2015.
October, 2012
- Art. 258 (1999 Code)
District
Viet Nam
August 2, 2013 - Date of trial
3 years in prison
October, 2015
Sentenced to 12 years in prison under Art. 88 (1999 Code). Expected Release is May 18, 2029.
May 18, 2017
- Art 88 (1999)
District
Viet Nam
January 23, 2018 - Date of trial
Nguyen Kha Thanh
12 years in prison
May 18, 2029
Details of Imprisonment
Vuong Van Tha was arrested on May 18, 2017, at his home. Tha previously served three years in prison for "abusing democratic freedoms," under Article 258 of the 1999 Criminal Code. He had resumed his activism shortly before his May 2017 re-arrest. His house was put under siege by authorities at the time of the arrest, blasted with water cannons that injured many inside the house. Tha's son and two nephews were also arrested. The four were reportedly arrested for making and flying the flag of the former Republic of Vietnam.
January 2018:
Vuong Van Tha was sentenced to 12 years in prison on January 23, 2018 under Article 88 in An Giang province. Neither his lawyer or his family were permitted to attend the trial.
October 2018:
Facebooker Huynh Nghia shared the news that on October 4, 2018, Vuong Van Tha was transferred to the An Phuoc detention centre, where political prisoner Tran Hoang Phuc was also detained.
November 2018:
On November 5, Vuong Van Tha's wife came to An Phuoc Detention Center to visit him but was not allowed to meet him. It had been ten months since his family had been banned from seeing him because he did not agree to wear prison clothes.
December 2018:
Vuong Ngoc Thao, daughter of Vuong Van Tha, wrote a letter, calling for assistance for her father. For several months, the food which his family had sent him had been sent back, allegedly due to Tha’s refusal to accept it. However, this claim was unreasonable since Tha is a vegetarian and would not be able to eat food from the prison. In addition, at the time of writing, the family had been barred from meeting with Tha for more than 11 months. On November 5, his family attempted to visit him, but An Phuoc Detention Center said that “Tha did not want to meet with them." The authorities provided no official document from Tha stating this. Thao and her family are worried about Tha's survival in prison.
March 2019:
On March 5, 2019, Tran Hoang Phuc’s mother visited him at An Phuoc Detention Center. Phuc told her that fellow political prisoner Vuong Van Tha, since February 2, 2019, has refused food from the detention center and only eaten food from his colleagues or that he himself has grown. He asked the detention center to exchange his meat ration for money he can spend on vegetarian food; after five days, the center agreed.
August 2019:
Vuong Van Tha's family shared with The 88 Project that they had not been able to see him or send him any supplies for over seven months. Tha does not eat the food from the prison, thus, he had only been able to use the money sent by his family seven months ago to buy food. His funds were running out, and he was only able to eat one package of dried noodles per day, resulting in significant weight loss. Prison authorities allegedly told the family that Tha did not want them to send supplies, which was false. The family was also unsure if Tha's appeal had been filed; the authorities refused to give them any information.
***
November update: His family was cut off from communicating with him and still had not been allowed to send supplies. We spoke to his family to gain insight into the situation. Watch the interview, here.
January 2020:
Vuong Van Tha's family shared with us a report from a recently-released fellow inmate that prison officials were not giving Tha food because he had refused to wear a prison uniform and to sign a confession of guilt. Other inmates share what food they can, but Tha was greatly suffering from a lack of adequate nutrition.
June 2024:
Vuong Van Tha, seven years into his 11-year sentence under Article 88 for allegedly disseminating anti-state propaganda, had allegedly not eaten prison food for at least four years, his daughter Vuong Ngoc Thao told Project88 on June 12. Nor had he bought food from the prison canteen or received any supplies from the family. Thao said her father has been subsisting on whatever scrap food his fellow inmates can share. Tha has steadfastly refused to wear prison garb, which is mandated in order to be allowed family visits; he insisted prison clothes are only for criminals, which he says he is not. Thao said she only heard about her father’s situation through a cellmate. Prison guards also allegedly put buckets of pig’s feces in front of Tha’s cell to make him suffer. Tha’s family has not been able to see him since his trial and conviction.
Actions Taken
September 2017:
The Interfaith Council of Vietnam raised concerns about the treatment of Hoa Hao Buddhist Vuong Van Tha, who has been held in solitary confinement since May. His family’s residence was attacked with water cannons, and the police extracted Tha, his son, and two nephews in May, injuring other family members at the home in the process. Tha’s location remained unknown until recently.
Resources
Interview with Vuong Van Tha's family, November 2019
Family interview, June 2024, September 2025