The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of Viet Nam on 27 January 2026. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this time frame. If a reply is received it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
Since the communication was sent, Mr. Quyet has remained in custody, and his detention has been extended once again until 30 July 2026 by the Supreme People’s Procuracy. According to reports received by the Special Rapporteur, he has not been allowed visits by his lawyer nor his wife, and the Ministry of Public Security has yet to inform his family and legal counsel of the specific article of the Penal Code under which Mr. Quyet is being prosecuted.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the arrest of human rights defender Ho Sy Quyet on 18 August 2025 in Ho Chi Minh City, and the extension of his incommunicado detention from 1 January 2026 to 1 April 2026.
Mr. Ho Sy Quyet is a human rights defender who has worked on environmental protection and cases of repression since 2015. He advocated for holding the responsible actors of the Formosa toxic waste spill, also known as the 2016 Viet Nam marine life disaster, accountable. He then created the Facebook page ‘Making Politics Interesting’ to make political topics more accessible to the public, and gained 28,000 followers. The page was shut down in 2023 amid growing State pressure. He played a leading role in the ‘Save Tam Dao’ campaign in 2018, opposing resort development in Tam Dao National Park.
Special Procedures mandate holders addressed previous violations against Mr. Quyet in AL VNM 3/2020, which expresses concern over the reported actions of police officers who entered Mr. Quyet’s home without a warrant and seized electronic devices and identity papers. Mr. Quyet was taken to a police station and questioned about civil society activities in Viet Nam, with officers reportedly threatening him and pressuring him to unlock his phone. We thank the Government for its reply to this communication on 28 December 2020, yet we regret that the reply provides no information on the case of Mr. Quyet.
ALLEGATIONS
On 18 August 2025, Mr. Quyet traveled to Ho Chi Minh City. On 28 August 2025 at approximately 9:30 p.m., he called a family member informing them that he was at a police station, before the call ended abruptly. Reportedly, he was arrested on that evening on the basis of article 117 of the 2015 Criminal Code, accused of ‘making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State’, an offense carrying up to 20 years in prison.
As Mr. Quyet’s fate and whereabouts remained unknown, one of his family members filed a missing person report in Go Vap District on 31 August 2025. On 1 September 2025, authorities reported that he was being held at the request of the Ministry of Public Security but did not provide official documentation, clarify the place of detention, or allow any form of contact. In early September 2026, police officers searched Mr. Quyet’s home again and confiscated additional devices and documents.
On 17 September 2025, the investigation bureau of the Ministry of Public Security issued an order to temporarily detain Mr. Quyet. The document stated that his detention started on 13 September 2025 and that prosecution proceedings started on 10 September 2025 but did not state what offence he was investigated for.
On 19 September 2025, Mr. Quyet’s relatives were informed by the Ministry of Public Security that he had been detained at the B34 Detention Center in Ho Chi Minh City since 13 September 2025 and he would be held there until 1 January 2026. On this occasion, the Ministry of Public Security confirmed that Mr. Quyet was being investigated for ‘spreading propaganda against the State’, under article 117 of the 2015 Criminal Code. The Ministry of Public Security provided no information regarding the whereabouts of Mr. Quyet between 28 August and 13 September 2025.
In October 2025, Mr. Quyet’s relatives received, through their lawyers, a notification informing that Mr. Quyet was also being investigated for ‘activities against the people’s government’, under article 109 of the amended 2025 Criminal Code. This offense is punishable with life imprisonment. The notification also informed that the application presented by Mr. Quyet’s lawyers to serve as his legal representatives had not yet been approved, as the investigation into the two national security offense was still ongoing.
On 2 January 2026, authorities declared that the investigation phase had been extended until 1 April 2026, and that Mr. Quyet would remain in incommunicado detention until then. At the time of writing, Mr. Quyet is detained at B34 Detention Center in Ho Chi Minh City, over 1,000 kilometers from his home and family, without access to legal counsel or family visits.
BACKGROUND
In the communication, we express serious concern over the prolonged arbitrary detention of Mr. Quyet, in particular as he is being held incommunicado and his detention has been extended without justification or apparent evidence for the alleged crimes he was arrested for. We are equally concerned that the location of Mr. Quyet was unknown for 15 days following his arrest, in what would constitute a case of enforced disappearance. These acts appear to breach articles 9, 14 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), acceded by Viet Nam on 24 September 1982.
As Special Procedures mandate holders expressed in previous communications to the Vietnamese Government, the use of lengthy incommunicado detention on vaguely worded provisions of the Criminal Code, such as article 117, against individuals who simply exercise their right to freely express opinions, impart information and conduct their human rights work, including human rights defenders and journalists, is highly concerning.
We are alarmed that Mr. Quyet has reportedly been the victim of harassment and human rights violations on multiple occasions over several years. He appears to be solely targeted due to his peaceful work on the protection and promotion of human rights, especially on cases of environmental protection and repression of other human rights defenders.
