Đinh Thị Thu Thủy
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Đinh Thị Thu Thủy | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 September 1982 |
| Occupation | Human rights activist |
| Known for | Participation in the 2018 Vietnam protests |
| Criminal charges | Propagandising against the state |
| Criminal penalty | Guilty |
| Criminal status | Seven years imprisonment |
Đinh Thị Thu Thủy (born 5 September 1982) is a Vietnamese human rights activist and political prisoner. In 2021, she was sentenced to seven years in prison after taking part in the 2018 Vietnam protests.
Thủy lived in Ngã Bảy, Hậu Giang province, Vietnam with her daughter. She worked as an aquacultural engineer.[1]
Activism
Thủy became known as an activist on social media, particularly Facebook, where she wrote posts in support of political prisoners, freedom of expression, and environmental rights, and criticised the implications of the Vietnamese government's investment in overseas projects.[2][3]
In June 2018, Thủy participated in national protests against two laws drafted by the Vietnamese government, the Special Zone Act (which promoted opening three special economic zones across Vietnam, which critics believed would lead to increasing Chinese intervention and influence in the country), and the Cybersecurity Law (which would give the government the power to control online information and police online activity).[2][3][4][5] Thủy took part in a protest outside the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City, during which she and other protesters were temporarily detained, beaten and fined before being released. Following the protest, Thủy was placed under state surveillance.[1]
Arrest and detention
On 18 April 2020, Thủy was arrested at her home in Lái Hiếu ward, Ngã Bảy, and detained at an unknown location on charges of "making, storing, disseminating, or propagandising information, materials and products that aim to oppose the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam".[1][2][3][5][6] Vietnamese authorities reported finding several masks in Thủy's home decorated with the "No-U" slogan, in reference to territorial disputes over the South China Sea.[1]
In August 2020, Thủy's pre-trial detention was extended by an additional four months, with her location not disclosed until November, when she was able to contact her family for the first time since her arrest.[3][7]
Thủy met with lawyers for the first time in December 2020, who reported her mental health as being "poor".[8]