Human rights in Vietnam

[6] The Vietnamese government has also made use of online operatives and nationalist netizens or "public opinion brigades", state-sponsored anonymous political commentators and trolls who combat any perceived dissent against CPV policies or protest over the status of human rights.

Some religious groups may be subject to "public criticism, forced renunciation of faith, detention, interrogation, torture, and imprisonment.

[citation needed] Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Vietnam face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents.

[17][b] The right to change gender was officially legalized in Vietnam after the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Civil Code in 2015.

[18] According to the Vietnamese constitution: "All the ethnicities are equal, unified and respect and assist one another for mutual development; all acts of national discrimination and division are strictly forbidden.

[27] The embassy also stated that many of these countries appreciated Vietnam's renewal, achievements and strong commitment to fostering human rights.

[28] According to a 1997 report by the China Internet Information Center, Vietnam has made a number of changes to its constitution, laws, and practical policies in the area of human rights since the Đổi Mới, or the economic reform in 1986.

Although Vietnam retains capital punishment, the Constitution of 1992 reduced the number of eligible crimes from 44 to 29, and over 90% of the population has access to health care.

In 2009, the European Parliament expressed concern about "the growing climate of intolerance in Vietnam towards human rights defenders and members of officially unrecognized religious communities."

[39][40] Many Western governments condemned the move, and human rights groups alleged that the arrest was due to Le Cong Dinhs' support for freedom of speech.

[40] As of 2011[update], Vietnam holds several other individuals in detention whom Amnesty International considers to be prisoners of conscience: Cù Huy Hà Vũ, convicted of "conducting propaganda against the state" for giving interviews to foreign press;[41] Nguyễn Đan Quế, convicted of "red-handed keeping and distributing documents" calling for the overthrow of the government;[42] and Roman Catholic priest Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý (also known as Father Thaddeus) detained for "spreading propaganda against the state.

"[43] In January 2019, the authorities of Vietnam arrested and sentenced an Australian democracy activist, Chau Van Kham, to 12 years of imprisonment on charges of "financing terrorism".

In June 2023, after serving four years in prison, The Guardian reported that the activist was released from imprisonment on humanitarian grounds, with the efforts of the Australian government.

[45] In May 2023, activist Trần Văn Bang was sentenced to eight years in prison after making Facebook posts critical of the government.