Prominent human rights defender and prisoner of conscience, Cấn Thị Thêu, who has been imprisoned for five years and allegedly subjected to torture and inhumane conditions of detention, recently informed her family about some serious health issues. Arrested in 2020, Thêu and her two sons were sentenced between 8 to 10 years in prison under Article 117 of the Criminal Code for “opposing the State of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam”. Thêu and her family began advocating against forced evictions and became leading figures in the land rights movement. There are grave concerns that, without access to adequate healthcare, her life could be at risk. Thêu is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for exercising her human rights, and must be immediately and unconditionally released.
