Ta Phong Tan

Who is Ta Phong Tan?

Tạ Phong Tần is a Vietnamese dissident blogger. A former policewoman and a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, she was arrested in September 2011 on anti-state propaganda charges for her blog posts alleging government corruption. On 30 July, Ta Phong Tan's mother Dang Thi Kim Lieng immolated herself in front of the government offices in Bac Lieu province in protest of the charges against her daughter. On 4 October 2012, Ta Phong Tan was sentenced to ten years in prison. Her arrest was protested by groups including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the US State Department, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.