Experts condemn misuse of counter-terrorism law against Montagnards in Viet Nam

GENEVA (28 August 2024) – Independent human rights experts* today expressed alarm about the discriminatory misuse of counter-terrorism law by the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam against Montagnard Indigenous Peoples and Christian religious minorities in the country’s Central Highlands.

On 20 January 2024, a “mobile court” convicted 100 people on terrorism-related charges following a mass trial. The trial was a response to attacks on two commune police stations in Dak Lak Province on 11 June 2023, which killed nine people.

“Justice for the victims requires Viet Nam to ensure its investigations, arrests, prosecutions and trial of suspects are fully consistent with international human rights law,” the experts said, expressing sympathy with victims of the June 2023 attacks.

“The response by the Vietnamese authorities appears to involve arbitrary arrests and detention, including inciting civilian vigilantes from a majority ethnic group to hunt down suspects believed to be Montagnard Indigenous Peoples,” the experts said.

“Some detainees were subjected to torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in detention, including forced confessions. One detainee, Mr. Y Būm Byă, died in custody on 8 March 2024 after being tortured,” they said.

The 100 people were mainly charged with vague and over-broad terrorism offences and were prosecuted in a mass trial by a “mobile court”, which did not guarantee international fair trial rights. “The mobile court lacked a clear legal basis and was not independent of political influence,” the experts said. “It was a prejudicial tool to collectively shame the defendants, without properly assessing individual responsibility.”

“Derogatory public statements by Vietnamese officials undermined the presumption of innocence. The mass prosecution did not guarantee individual rights to prepare a defence, to access and choose legal representation, and to examine and cross-examine witnesses,” the experts said.

On 6 March 2024, Viet Nam also arbitrarily designated as a “terrorist organisation” the émigré human rights group Montagnards Stand for Justice (MSFJ), some of whose members were prosecuted in absentia in the mass trial. "This designation does not appear to meet the requirements of due process and judicial protection under international human rights law," the experts said.

"To the extent that the designation of MSFJ targets its legitimate activities to defend the human rights of Montagnards in the Central Highlands, it may violate freedoms of expression, assembly, association and religion or belief, the rights of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination, and the rights of Christian religious minorities,” they said.

“The mass trial and the targeting of MSFJ is part of a larger and intensifying pattern of historical discrimination and repression against Montagnards in Viet Nam, including surveillance, security controls, harassment, and intimidation, endangering their lives,” the experts said. “In line with the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, we call on Viet Nam to address conditions in the Central Highlands that are conducive to violence, such as human rights violations, ethnic, national and religious discrimination, political exclusion, socio-economic marginalisation, and lack rule of law and good governance.”

They also called on Viet Nam to stop targeting Montagnard refugees in other countries, including by seeking the forcible return and extradition from Thailand of persons convicted in absentia on 11 June 2023.

“We remind Viet Nam and other States that international law absolutely prohibits returning a person to another country where there is a real risk of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or other serious human rights violations, such as arbitrary deprivation of life, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention or flagrant denial of a fair trial,” the experts warned.

They have communicated these concerns to the Governments of Viet Nam and Thailand.