Bui Thi Kim Phuong
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2019-120-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2019
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 14.058324
Longitude: 108.277199
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Vietnam
- From Region
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Female
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
to bring the case of her husband, Mr. Nguyen Bac Truyen, a human rights defender and independent Hoa Hao Buddhist who faced reprisals after the 2014 visit of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief,
- Type of rights defended
- Civil/political rights
- Religious freedom
- Was the victim a civil servant, member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
she was planning to visit Geneva to bring the case of her husband, Mr. Nguyen Bac Truyen, a human rights defender and independent Hoa Hao Buddhist who faced reprisals after the 2014 visit of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief, to the attention of the Human Rights Committee
- Engagement with UN body
- UN Treaty Bodies: HRC
- Dates of engagement
- March 2019
- Type of attempted engagement
- Participation in meeting on UN premises
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 7 March 2019
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- Ho Chi Minh City
- Reprisal information
On 7 March 2019, a few days before Viet Nam was to be reviewed by the Committee at its 125th session, Ms. Bui Thi Kim Phuong was detained and questioned at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City and banned from traveling to Europe to meet United Nations and European government officials to advocate for the release of her husband. The authorities reportedly cited “security reasons” for the travel ban placed on Ms. Bui Thi Kim Phuong.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Detention/Imprisonment: Release within a day
- Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
- Travel restriction
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Government response dates
- 26 June 2019
- Government response content
Regarding the cases of Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Thanh and Ms. Bui Thi Kim Phuong, the Government stated that the claims that the authorities “threaten” or “prevented individuals from travelling” are untrue and stated that the compilation and drafting of reports related to the UPR and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) are carried out in an open, transparent and inclusive manner.
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 1
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
- 2023
- Follow up information provided in SG report 0
- The case of Ms. Bui Thi Kim Phuong, the wife of Mr. Nguyen Bac Truyen, 181 was included in the 2019 and 2021 reports of the Secretary-General182 on allegations of police action to prevent her in 2018 from meeting with OHCHR in the country and travel restrictions that did not allow her in 2019 to travel to Geneva to engage with the Human RightsCommittee on the case of her husband. According to information received by OHCHR, Ms. Phuong has been placed on an exit ban list since 2018 and has not been able to travel abroad during the period to attend international events or engage with United Nations human rights bodies and mechanisms.
- Followup Trends 0
- Stayed same
- Did the government respond? 0
- No