To Hoang Chuong
Tô Hoàng Chương
Current Status: Sentenced to prison
Date of Birth: 1986
Gender: M
Religion: Buddhist
Ethnicity: Khmer Krom
Occupation: NGO worker
Activist Focus:
- Indigenous rights
Organizational/Political Party Affiliation:
Details
History of Activism
To Hoang Chuong is a Khmer Krom human rights defender who advocates for indigenous rights by distributing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) among members of his community. Because of his peaceful activism, on June 20, 2023, Chuong was unlawfully detained by Tra Vinh police, and he was hit in the head when he was interrogated, resulting in swelling and pain.
In a July 2025 opinion, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention raised concerns about the arrests of To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong. The Working Group found their detention to be baseless and unlawful: the men were held incommunicado; denied the opportunity to challenge their arrest; and prevented from seeing a lawyer. It said their trial never should have taken place, noting further violations such as the use of forced confessions, lack of presumption of innocence, and a closed hearing.
The Working Group concluded that Chuong and Cuong were targeted as part of a broader pattern of discrimination and intimidation by Vietnamese authorities for their activism in defense of human rights and their Khmer Krom identity.
Profile photo source: USCRIF
Sentenced to 4 years in prison under Art. 331 (2015 Code). Expected Release is July 31, 2027.
March 20, 2024 - Date of trial
None -- no legal representation
4 years in prison
July 31, 2027
Details of Imprisonment
On March 20, 2024, The Cau Ngang District People’s Court in southern Vietnam’s Tra Vinh province convicted To Hoang Chuong of “abusing democratic freedoms” under Article 331, a section of the penal code 2015 Criminal Code used by the government to silence dissenting voices.
Chuong was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. According to the Khmers Kampuchea-Krom Federation (KKF), Chuong was tried without access to a lawyer.
Chuong was hit in the head when he was interrogated, resulting in swelling and pain. To Hoang Chuong and his co-defendant, Thach Cuong, were arrested on July 31, 2023 because they passed out copies of the United Nations’ “Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” which states that indigenous peoples have the right to maintain and develop their political, economic and social systems or institutions.
Chuong was held incommunicado after arrest.
The indictments for Chuong and Cuong also accused them of using their Facebook accounts to live-stream videos and to post and share photos and video clips.
The contents of the articles, photos and video clips “affected the national and religious unity, distorted the history of Vietnam and the authorities and insulted the prestige” of police and local authorities, according to the Tra Vinh provincial Department of Information and Culture.
Resources
Khởi tố, bắt tạm giam Thạch Cương và Tô Hoàng Chương về hành vi lợi dụng quyền tự do, dân chủ, July 31, 2023
KKF press release, June 25, 2023
KKF press release, March 20, 2024
USCRIF database
On the Convictions of Vietnamese Ethnic Minority and Religious Freedom Advocates, US Dept. of State, April 1, 2024
HRF submits the case of two Khmer Krom detainees in Vietnam to the UNWGAD. Human Rights Foundation; 2024-10-22.
Opinion by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, July 2025
Profile last updated: 2025-08-23 18:31:01