Le Thanh Trung Duong

Extra Bio Info:

Le Thanh Trung Duong is imprisoned for his religious activity and expression.

On January 4, 2022, authorities searched the THIÊN AM BÊN BỜ VŨ TRỤ (TABBVT) Buddhist Monastery (also known as Tinh That Bong Lai and Thien Am at the Edge of the Universe), an independent Buddhist community, taking into custody several individuals for questioning, including Duong, a monk. Following questioning, Duong was arrested.

On January 7, 2022, authorities announced that Duong and other monks were officially charged with “abusing democratic freedoms” (Art. 331/2015 VCC) after the monastery was accused of taking advantage of religion and philanthropy for their own personal benefit. At the time of their arrests, authorities had also reportedly charged them with incest and fraud as well, but these charges were later dropped.  A complaint against the monastery was reportedly submitted by the Buddhist Church of Vietnam, the state-backed religious entity, and Thich Nhat Tu, a member of the Buddhist Church of Vietnam’s board of directors.

On June 9, 2022, Duong was formally indicted, with authorities accusing him and others of creating videos and authoring an article insulting to the Duc Hoa District Police, the Buddhist Church of Vietnam in Long An province, and Thich Nhat Tu.

On July 21, 2022, the Duc Hoa District People's Court sentenced Duong to four years in prison. 

In late 2022, an appeals court reportedly upheld Duong's sentence.

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