Dang Dinh Bach is a Vietnamese human rights and environmental lawyer who has dedicated his life to protecting communities affected by harmful pollution and involuntary displacement, phasing out plastic waste and supporting the Vietnamese government’s transition to clean energy. As co-founder and director of the Law and Policy of Sustainable Development Research Centre, he helped communities defend their health and environment through law, trained over a hundred young lawyers, and played a key role in Vietnam’s first legislation limiting the production and import of plastics and banning the use of asbestos.
In January 2022, Bach was sentenced to five years in prison on politically motivated tax-evasion charges after leading a campaign to reduce Vietnam’s reliance on coal. His case was marred by serious violations, including denial of access to his lawyer and the court’s refusal to hear Bach’s defense. In June 2023, the UN Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention released an opinion regarding his imprisonment, finding it a “violation of international law.”
