Toan was born in 1955 in Vu Ban district, northern Nam Dinh province. He lives at 11 Trang Tien alley, Trang Tien ward, Hoan Kiem precinct, Hanoi. He is a graduate of the general school, but unemployed.

In 1979, Toan served a nine month suspended sentence handed down by the Ba Dinh precinct court for theft and trade in stolen properties. In 1983, he got a written warning issued by the Ba Dinh court on the charge of trading “stolen goods”. In August 2002, Toan was arrested and sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment and three years’ probation for espionage activities.

Showing leniency towards him, the government decided on January 24, 2006 to release Toan eight years before the end of his prison sentence. Instead of repenting what he has done, Toan continued to follow the beaten track. Taking advantage of the anxieties of petitioners coming from other localities to Hanoi, Toan told them that he would ask for “protection” and “support from abroad”. He even incited and encouraged them to cause social disorder by giving them money supplied by Vietnamese reactionaries living abroad. He gave Nguyen Van Tuc and Vu Van Tai, from northern Thai Binh province VND4.5 million to buy mobile phones and recorders and cover his travel expenses to Hanoi, gave Dang The Hai from northern Bac Giang province VND2 million, Tran Anh Kim, from Thai Binh province US$750 and Ho Thi Bich Khuong from central Nghe An province a computer, a digital camera and a hand phone as a means to carry out anti government activities.

Toan instructed Duong Thi Xuan and Vu Thi Ut Hanh from Hanoi to go to Mai Xuan Thuong park and to 110 Cau Giay street, Hanoi, in an attempt to cause social disorder when Government officials came to talk to petitioners. They planned to gather documents, take pictures of the events and then send them to Vietnamese opponents abroad and other hostile forces to besmirch Vietnam about the so-called “democracy and human rights” issues.

Nguyen Khac Toan has joined several organisations, including “Block 8406” founded by Nguyen Van Ly, the journal “Democratic Freedom” as deputy editor-in-chief (the journal is financially supported by Vo Van Minh, editor-in-chief of the Webpage Doithoai.com), the “Vietnam Independence Trade Union” in the role as acting chief representative (the union is founded by Tran Ngoc Thanh, a Vietnamese exiled in Poland, and “Vietnam Sydney Radio” as a self-nominated Vietnam based correspondent.

In addition, Toan has strongly supported reactionary organisations rigged up to counter the government, including “the Advanced Party”, “the Party for the People” or “the Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights in Vietnam”.

Toan has criticized the country, particularly its democracy and human rights practice, in many documents and interviews given to foreign radio broadcasters and newspaper reporters. He has demanded elimination of the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the present political system. In the last May National Assembly elections, he incited citizens to boycott the elections.

Thich Khong Tanh, a close henchman of Thich Quang Do, brought VND300 million from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi in an attempt to buy off petitioners and create bedlam in the city. He asked Toan to arrange for him to meet some political opportunists in the city, including Hoang Minh Chinh. But their scheme was nipped in the bud.

Thich Khong Tanh was arrested while preparing to give millions of Vietnam dong to petitioners in Hanoi at 110 Cau Giay street.