Defenders’ Weekly | Nov 15, 2015
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Torture, Inhumane Treatment in Vietnam Detention Facilities at Alarming Level: Legislator
Police torture and other degrading treatment in Vietnamese prisons and detention facilities have become out of control, said Truong Trong Nghia, member of Vietnam’s legislative body National Assembly (NA).
Speaking at a parliament’s discussion on the draft Law on Custody and Temporary Detention on November 9, the Danang city-based legislator said cruel treatment in police detention facilities has become more and more serious, causing numerous deaths of detainees and miscarriages of justice in the past few years.
Most of the victims of police torture and inhumane treatments have not made denunciation against the perpetrators due to fear or because they were forced to commit not to accuse their torturer after being released, Mr. Nghia said.
The lawmaker said police must respect human rights of detainees who are innocent until being proven guilty by courts.
According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, police torture is a systemic problem in Vietnam. Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) reported that 226 detainees and prisoners died between October 2011 and September 2014. The police said most of their deaths were caused by illness and suicides while their families believed that torture and inhumane treatments were the real causes of the deaths.
Mr. Nghia suggested that all prisons and detention facilities should be under management of the Ministry of Justice. These facilities are now under the control of the MoPS, particularly its Investigation Police Agency and the Investigation Security Agency, which hold detainees while the Ministry’s General Department of Criminal Enforcement and Judicial Assistance oversees all prisons where prisoners are kept.
The detention facilities should be independent from agencies conducting criminal investigation, he noted. Criminal suspects must be able to exercise the right to meet with lawyers for unlimited times during pre-trial detention, he added.
The draft Law on Criminal Procedure Code, which is under discussion of the communist-controlled parliament, should prioritize assumption of innocence and request investigation agencies to immediately release detainees if they fail to collect solid evidences against them, Mr. Nghia said.
Concerned about rising torture and other cruel treatment in police detention facilities, legislator Nguyen Thi Kha from Tra Vinh province said the MoPS’s General Department of Criminal Enforcement and Judicial Assistance should manage all prisons and detention facilities in the country.
Agreeing with the proposal of Ms. Kha, Soc Trang province-based lawmaker Nguyen Tuyet Lien said that the separation of the remand prisons from the investigation agencies would secure the independence of their operations and help to prevent police torture.
Legislator Pham Truong Dan from the central province of Quang Nam said the detention facilities should be transferred to the General Department of Police and the General Department of Security, the upper levels of the two investigation agencies, in order to better serve the investigative operations.
Khanh Hoa province-based legislator Le Minh Hien proposed that the Law on Custody and Temporary Detention should require that detainees and suspects not be held in the same cell with sentenced persons, especially those sentenced to life imprisonment and death penalty.
Other legislators asked separate rooms for detained homosexual individuals and minors.
Many legislators have also expressed their concerns how the state can provide remedies for those who die during pre-trial detention. In practice, the case automatically closes without conclusion if a suspect dies before trial.
Last year, Vietnam ratified the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. However, the situation has remained unimproved as around ten people have been founded dead or severely injured in police stations nationwide so far this year.
DTD: Torture, Inhumane Treatment in Vietnam Detention Facilities at Alarming Level: Legislator
==============================
Vietnam Central Highlands Police Severely Beat Local Dissident, Questioning Another Pro-democracy Activist
Police in Vietnam’s Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on November 8 brutally beat Tran Minh Nhat, a local political dissident, and detained pro-democracy activist Chu Manh Son for interrogation.
The assault happened on Sunday when Mr. Nhat and Mr. Son, two former prisoners of conscience, were on their way from Ho Chi Minh City to Lam Ha district where Nhat resides.
Mr. Son, who completed his 30-month imprisonment in February last year, said that in early Sunday morning when they were on a bus, policemen stopped the bus and attacked Nhat, who was released on August 27 after four years in jail but still under another four years of house arrest.
Mr. Nhat said a policeman named Minh blocked him while another policeman named Long barbarically beat him in the bus under witness of other passengers.
Later, policemen detained the two pro-democracy activists at the police station in Dinh Van ward, Lam Ha district for interrogation, and released them in late evening of the same day.
Police robbed a cell phone and a camera memory card from Mr. Son and four books from Mr. Nhat as well as some T-shirts with logos which call for human rights and multi-party democracy.
Dinh Huy Thai, head of the Lam Ha district police, threatened the duo that the police will not ensure security for them when they go out of the police station. In fact, police sent thugs to chase the two activists but the two former political prisoners successfully avoided being attacked.
Nhat, 27, is now under home treatment for serious injuries caused by the assault. He does not want to go to public hospitals because of the risks of being attacked by police, he said.
Since being freed in late August, Nhat has been constantly harassed by local authorities who often summon him to local police station for interrogation.
On August 28, one day after he returned home from a prison, a number of activists came to visit him. On their way back, the visitors were brutally attacked by local police. The victims included land rights activist Ms. Tran Thi Nga, a member of the unsanctioned Vietnam Women for Human Rights, Mr. Truong Minh Tam, a member of the unregistered Vietnam Pathway, Mr. Le Dinh Luong, younger uncle of human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan, and a young couple who want to remain unnamed. Mr. Son was also among the activists severely assaulted by the police. Son, Tam and Luong were severely beaten, with many injuries and bleeding on their faces and heads.
Vietnam’s police have intensified crackdown against local political dissidents and human rights activists nationwide few months ahead of the ruling communist party’s National Congress slated in early 2016.
Police arrested former political prisoner Tran Anh Kim from Thai Binh and Nguyen Viet Dung, the leader and founder of the unsanctioned Republican Party of Vietnam and charged them under controversial Articles 79 and 245 of the country’s Penal Code, respectively. They remain in pre-trial detention.
According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, Vietnam is holding between 150 and 200 prisoners of conscience. Hanoi denies this by saying only law violators are being imprisoned.
In addition, security forces have also deployed plainclothes agents or hired thugs to attack pro-democracy activists and human rights defenders in many localities, including the capital city of Hanoi. Among victims of government-backed assaults are human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan, bloggers Doan Trang, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, Truong Van Dung, Nguyen Chi Tuyen, Trinh Anh Tuan, Tran Duc Thach, and Truong Minh Huong.
On November 6, in order to block labor activist Do Thi Minh Hanh from attending anti-China protest on the occasion of the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Vietnam, security forces in Ho Chi Minh City locked her apartment.
Pro-government thugs in Hanoi have threatened local human rights activists and political dissidents, including Ms. Mai Phuong Thao (Thao Teresa) and Mr. Trinh Ba Phuong as well as blogger Nguyen Lan Thang.
The Communist Party of Vietnam has ruled the country for decades and it vows to make all efforts to keep the country under a one-party regime. The communist leaders have requested the police forces not to allow the formation of opposition party nor tolerate any government criticism.
SBTN: Công an huyện Lâm Hà hành hung người yêu nước ngay đồn công an
RFA: Chính sách hăm dọa, sách nhiễu đánh đập của công an còn tồn tại đến bao giờ
=========================================
No Policeman Participated in Assault Against Two Human Rights Lawyers: Hanoi Authorities
Policemen had not taken part in beating two human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan on November 3, contrary to the victims’ claim, said the Hanoi Department of Police at a press conference on November 10.
The police in the capital city said the assault, committed by eight individuals in Chuong My district, was triggered by a traffic dispute as the attackers got angry from gas emission and dust caused by the car driven by the two lawyers.
The police released the result of the investigation on the case based on the confessions of the attackers.
On Tuesday last week, lawyers Nam and Luan, the two legal consultants of the family of Do Dang Du, the 17-year-old boy who died on October 10 due to severe injuries he suffered in detention, visited the family in Dong Phuong Yen commune, Chuong My district in a bid to help the family seek justice for the boy’s death.
On their way back, about 100 meters from the family’s house, the car of the two lawyers was stopped by a group of masked thugs who brutally attacked the lawyers. The victims said they recognized one of the attackers as a policeman named Cuu in the commune.
The preliminary medical examination showed that Nam’s nose was broken and his eyes were also injured. He will go further medical test to check whether his brain was affected by the attacks. Lawyer Luan had also a number of injuries on his face and body.
When informed about the attack, Mr. Phan Trung Hoai, vice president of the Vietnam Bar Federation said he contacted a senior official of the Ministry of Public Security and a deputy chief of the Hanoi Police Department on the attack and the two pledged to launch an investigation on the case. Mr. Hoai also said the federation will also send its letter to relevant agencies to report the case and demand them to take proper measures to protect lawyers.
The attack was made one day after Major General Nguyen Duc Chung, head of the city’s Police Department, was elected to become one of four deputy secretaries of the Hanoi communist party’s People’s Committee for the 2015-2020 period. Chung is expected to be appointed as the chairman of the city’s People’s Committee in mid-2016.
The assault against Nam and Luan is among a series of recent attacks against local government critics and human rights activists.
In the evenings of October 21 and 23, government supporters in Hanoi attacked blogger Nguyen Lan Thang’s wife Le Bich Vuong and social activist Nguyen The Trung, his friend.
In the evening of October 30, thugs, with support of the Hanoi police, attacked local activists when they held a party in a restaurant in Dong Da district to mark the 4th anniversary of the founding of No-U Football Club, a soccer team of activists who oppose China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea.
In late October, thugs in Dong Phuong Yen also beat blogger Truong Dung and other activists when they visited Du’s family to share sympathy over his death.
Meanwhile, the death of Du in Hanoi-based Xa La detention facility is still unresolved. Police said he was beaten by a cellmate while observers said the explanation of the detention facility’s authorities on the case is disputed.
The victim’s family is reportedly seeking justice from the UN Human Rights Council while the local police is trying to persuade the family not to appeal the case.
SBTN: Công an Hà Nội: Luật sư Thu Nam bị đánh vì phóng xe hơi gây bụi
Công an Hà Nội khẳng định công an xã không đánh 2 luật sư: Đó là côn đồ xã
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Ho Chi Minh City Activists Send Letter to Condemn Local Police Harassment
A group of dozens of activists in Ho Chi Minh City have filed their joint letter to state and government leaders to condemn the harassments of the local police who blocked their houses and restricted their movements on November 5-6 in a bid to prevent them from attending anti-China protests in the city on the occasion of the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Vietnam.
In their letter, they accused Major General Le Dong Pong of committing human rights violations by sending security agents to their residential places on the two days.
The signatories reaffirmed that they oppose China’s expansionism in the East Sea.
They said security agents blocked their houses without any legal basis.
They urged state agencies to investigate and bring law violators to courts.
TPHCM: Thư khiếu nại của những công dân bị vi phạm nghiêm trọng quyền tự do đi lại
***********************12/11/2015*********************
Hundreds of Vietnamese Lawyers Plan Street Demonstration to Seek Justice for Two Colleagues
A group of around 200 Vietnamese lawyers have planned to hold street demonstrations to demand for justice for their two colleagues who were brutally assaulted by thugs last week.
They planned to go to the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme People’s Procuracy and the Hanoi Police Department’s headquarters to demand for a thorough investigation into the attack against human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan on Tuesday [November 3] committed by masked thugs in Chuong My district, Hanoi.
They will also ask the country’s parliament to remove the regulation which requires lawyers to obtain approval before providing legal consultation to their clients.
The timetable for the protest will be publicized later, the lawyers said. They call on other colleagues and the Vietnamese public to support them in seeking justice for the two attacked human rights lawyers.
The move was planned after the Hanoi police released the results of an investigation into the assault against Mr. Nam and Mr. Luan after the duo visited the family of Do Dang Du, the 17-year-old boy who died on October 10 due to severe injuries he suffered during detention in the Hanoi-based Detention Facility No. 3.
At a press conference in Hanoi on November 10, representatives of the city’s Police Department said the assault, committed by eight individuals in Chuong My district, was triggered by a traffic dispute as the attackers got angry from gas emission and dust caused by the car of the two lawyers.
The police also rejected the victims’ accusation that one of the attackers is a local policeman named Cuu. According to the police, the attackers are Dong Phuong Yen commune-based farmers Dang Quang Huy, Nguyen Duy Ninh, Luu Cong Thang, Do Xuan Nguyen, Cao Van Huan, Nguyen Duy Manh, and Hoang Dinh Dan and communal accountant Nguyen Gia Tu.
The police released the result of the investigation on the case based on the confessions of the attackers.
Danang City-based Legislator Truong Trong Nghia said if the police’s investigation results were true, the country’s orders must be at warning level.
The lawmaker, who supports legal reforms to enhance human rights protection in the communist nation, urged Hanoi’s authorities to carefully investigate the case and bring the attackers to the court. He noted that the investigation has slowly progressed in many cases in which lawyers are victims.
Lawyers Nam and Luan are still under medical treatment. The preliminary medical checking showed that Nam’s nose was broken and his eyes were also injured. He will go further medical test to check whether his brain was affected by the attacks. Lawyer Luan had also a number of injuries in his face and body.
When informed about the attack, Mr. Phan Trung Hoai, vice president of the Vietnam Bar Federation said he contacted a senior official of the Ministry of Public Security and a deputy chief of the Hanoi Police Department to discuss the attack and the two pledged to launch an investigation on the case. Mr. Hoai also said the federation will also send its letter to relevant agencies to report the case and demand them to take proper measures to protect lawyers.
The attack occured one day after Major General Nguyen Duc Chung, head of the city’s Police Department, was elected to become one of four deputy secretaries of the Hanoi communist party’s People’s Committee for the 2015-2020 period. Chung is set to be appointed as the chairman of the city’s People’s Committee in mid-2016.
The assault against Nam and Luan, who try to help the family of Du to seek justice for his death, is among a series of recent attacks against local government critics and human rights activists, observers said.
Deploying plainclothes agents or using thugs to attack political dissidents and human rights activist is the new tactics of the Vietnamese communist government which strives to prevent the formation of any opposition movement.
RFA: Hơn 200 luật sư gởi kiến nghị cải cách tư pháp sau vụ 2 luật sư bị tấn công
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Foreign Diplomats Hold Hearing on Death Penalty of Le Van Manh
On November 10, many foreign diplomats gathered at the office of the EU’s Delegation to Vietnam in Hanoi to hear about the case of Le Van Manh, who was sentenced to death in trials which were unfair and failed to meet a number of international standards.
Lawyer Tran Vu Hai briefed the case and recent developments. A group of human rights lawyers led by him already sent a petition to the Supreme People’s Court to demand for suspension of execution of Manh who complained that he was tortured by police officers during interogation and the courts relied on his coerced confession in the case of the death of a 14-year-old girl in the central province of Thanh Hoa.
Foreign diplomats said they are very concerned by the case. They said Vietnam should remove capital punishment and ensure fair trials.
Vietnamese bloggers raised concerns about torture and other cruel treatments in prisons and detention facilities which caused 226 deaths between October 2011 and September 2014.
SBTN: Đại diện nhiều lãnh sự họp nghe tường trình vụ án tử tù Lê Văn Mạnh
Các đại sứ quán họp nghe tường trình về vụ án Lê Văn Mạnh
==================================
Angered by Patriotic Songs, Vietnam Pro-Gov’t Thug Breaks Fingers of Old Street Musician, Destroys His Instruments
A Vietnamese street musician who often sings patriotic songs was brutally attacked by a pro-government thug in the capital city of Hanoi on November 10 amid rising violence against political dissidents and human rights activists in the communist nation.
Mr. Ta Tri Hai, 75, reported that the big thug assaulted him around 9.30 PM when he played for people in the Ho Guom Lake in Hanoi’s center. The man beat the old musician, breaking his fingers and destroying his violin as well as throwing his other instruments into the lake.
During the attack, the thug said he was angry about the songs the old musician often sing which defame late President Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese communist leader and the founder of the communist state.
Mr. Hai, an anti-China activist, said local police came but allowed the attacker to go away freely.
The old musician is spending all his time in the city’s center to play music for visitors and local residents. Every evening, dozens of people gather on the lakeside pavement to listen to his patriotic songs and other songs which promote multi-party democracy and human rights, some of which were written by him.
He has participated in numerous demonstrations in which Vietnamese protest China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the past five years.
Mr. Hai is a loyal member of the No-U Football Club, a soccer team of Vietnamese activists who oppose China’s expansionism in the resource-rich East Sea which is very important for international navigation.
Due to his activities, Mr. Hai was detained by police several times. He has become a figure unwelcome by Hanoi’s authorities which have regularly harassed him. The old musician said Hanoi police have pressured landlords, demanding them not to allow him to rent a room for overnight stays.
Mr. Hai said he was threatened many times by pro-government thugs and plainclothes agents when he sing patriotic songs condemning China’s aggressiveness in the East Sea.
In 2012, Vietnam jailed two music compositors for writing patriotic songs condemning China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty and protesting Vietnam’s crackdown against anti-China activists. The People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced Tran Vu Anh Binh to six years and Vo Minh Tri to four years in prison for anti-state propaganda.
The attack against Mr. Hai is among numerous assaults of pro-government thugs against pro-democracy and human rights activists recently.
Many bloggers, including photographer Nguyen Lan Thang and his wife Le Bich Vuong, Nguyen Chi Tuyen, Trinh Tuan Anh, Nguyen Tuong Thuy and Tran Thi Nga have been harassed and attacked by pro-government thugs and plainclothes agents.
Thugs backed by the Hanoi police on October 30 attacked activists when they gathered in a local restaurant to mark the 4th anniversary of the founding of No-U FC, injuring some participants and causing damages to the restaurant. Numerous policemen and security agents stayed outside of the restaurant and did not respond to the call for help.
Four days later, thugs and a policeman in Hanoi city’s Chuong My district, assaulted two human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan after the duo visited the family of Do Dang Du, the 17-year-old boy who died on October 10 after suffering serious injuries during detention in the Hanoi-based Detention Facility No. 3.
On November 5, security forces in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City violently supressed anti-China protests on the occasion of the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Southeast Asian nation. Police brutally beat a number of anti-China activists in Saigon and detained around 50 protestors in the two cities.
Vietnam has tightened political control several months ahead of the ruling communist party’s National Congress slated in early 2016. Feared by the victory of the democratic forces in the general election in Myanmar last week, the communist government in Hanoi is striving not to allow the formation of the opposition party as the ruling communists want to keep the country under a one-party regime.
SBTN: Nghệ sĩ đường phố Tạ Trí Hải bị côn đồ hành hung vì những bài hát chống cộng
Nóng: Nghệ sĩ đường phố Tạ Trí Hải bị côn đồ tấn công giữa trung tâm thủ đô
Angered by Patriotic Songs, Vietnam Pro-Gov’t Thug Breaks Fingers of Old Street Musician, Destroying His Instruments
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Hanoi Police Detain Prominent Lawyer amid Rising Violence against Local Activists
Security forces in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi on November 12 detained prominent lawyer Tran Vu Hai in a bid to halt the planned demonstration against violence targeting human rights lawyers.
In early of Thursday, police blocked the apartment of lawyer Hai and detained him when he was heading to his office. Security forces took him to a police station in Xuan La ward for questioning for the whole day.
Hai was detained ahead of the planned demonstrations of many lawyers aimed at the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme People’s Procuracy and the Hanoi Police Department’s headquarters to demand for a thorough investigation into the attack against human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan on Tuesday [November 3] committed by masked thugs in Chuong My district, Hanoi.
Yesterday, around 200 lawyers in Hanoi signed a joint petition to relevant agencies to request a full investigation into the assault as well as ask the country’s parliament to remove the regulation which requires lawyers to obtain approval before providing legal consultation to their clients.
Police said they detained Mr. Hai because of an accusation against him in a land seizure in the northern province of Thai Nguyen. However, the real reason for the detention is his key role in the planned protest of lawyers.
Hai, who is director of the Hanoi-based Tran Vu Hai Law Co., is among few lawyers who have been providing legal assistance to defendants in political cases and land seizure cases involving senior state cadres in many localities.
Speaking from the second floor of the Xuan La ward police headquarters during his detention, Hai said the detention is a personal revenge of Major General Nguyen Duc Chung, head of the Hanoi Police Department, against him. In April-May, Hai accused Gen. Chung of involvement in the massive downing of thousands of aged valuable trees in the city’s main streets and their replacement with young trees unsuitable for urban conditions.
Gen. Chung is a rising political star in Vietnam. He was recently elected to be deputy secretary of the city’s communist party Committee and set to be elected as the chairman of the city’s People’s Committee next year.
Chung is known for ordering severe suppression of government’s critics and human rights defenders under his leadership of the city’s police in the past two years.
In response to Hai’s detention, hundreds of his friends, colleagues, activists and clients as well as land petitioners gathered in front of the Xuan La police station to condemn the illegal detention and demand for his immediate release. The local authorities deployed numerous police officers, plainclothes agents and militia to the site. They also sent two buses and threatened to detain protestors, as they did in previous demonstrations against China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea.
In the late afternoon, police agreed to release Mr. Hai who refused to go out without making a minute which would state that the Hanoi detained him illegally.
In turn, police refused to make such a minute, saying they did not detain him.
Finally, they reached a consensus to make a working minute and Hai filled a 11-page statement condemning the detention. Hai was freed at 9.30 pm, 13.5 hours after being held.
He was warmly welcomed by people waiting outside who vowed to stay overnight there in case the police refuse to free the lawyer.
Hai’s detention took place nine days after eight masked thugs and a policeman named Cuu in Dong Phuong Yen commune, Chuong My district brutally beat human rights lawyers Nam and Luan when the duo visited the family of Do Dang Du, the 17-year-old boy who died on October 10 due to severe injuries he suffered during detention in Detention Facility No. 3 in Hanoi,
At a press conference in Hanoi on November 10, representatives of the city’s Police Department said the assault, committed by eight individuals in Chuong My district, was triggered by a traffic dispute as the attackers got angry from gas emission and dust caused by the car of the two lawyers.
The police also rejected the victims’ accusation that one of the attackers is a local policeman. According to the police, the attackers are Dong Phuong Yen commune-based farmers Dang Quang Huy, Nguyen Duy Ninh, Luu Cong Thang, Do Xuan Nguyen, Cao Van Huan, Nguyen Duy Manh, and Hoang Dinh Dan and communal accountant Nguyen Gia Tu.
The police released the result of the investigation on the case based on the confessions of the attackers.
Also at the press conference, Gen. Chung said the situation in Chuong My district is complicated and outsiders should inform the local police to avoid troubles.
Danang City-based Legislator Truong Trong Nghia said if the police’s investigation results were true, the country’s public orders must be at an alarming level.
The lawmaker, who supports legal reforms to enhance human rights protection in the communist nation, urged Hanoi’s authorities to carefully investigate the case and bring the attackers to justice. He noted that the investigation has progressed slowly in many cases in which lawyers are victims.
The assault against Nam and Luan, who try to help the family of Du to seek justice for his death, is among a series of recent attacks against local government critics and human rights activists, observers said.
Deploying plainclothes agents or using criminals to attack political dissidents and human rights activist is the new tactics of the Vietnamese communist government which strives to prevent the formation of any opposition movements.
SBTN: Luật sư Trần Vũ Hải bị an ninh thường phục dùng vũ lực bắt cóc
Bắt giữ Luật sư Trần Vũ Hải gây ảnh hưởng xấu đến nền tư pháp Việt Nam
Hanoi Police Shortly Detain Prominent Lawyer amid Rising Violence against Local Activists
RFI: Việt Nam : Luật sư bị trấn áp trước khi tuần hành phản đối đồng nghiệp bị hành hung
BBC: Luật sư Hải rời đồn công an
LS Hải: Công an bắt luật sư ‘như súc vật’
Trần Vũ Hải – Đơn tố cáo công an bắt giữ người trái pháp luật và xâm phạm nhân phẩm công dân
**********************14/11/2015************************
1,000 Workers in Nghe An Hold Strike
On November 13, around 1,000 workers of MLB Tenegry Co. Ltd in Yen Thanh district in Vietnam’s central city of Nghe An started their strike to demand for better working conditions.
Particularly, they demand for better lunch, bonus on national holidays, and an end to groundless punishments.
SBTN: Nghệ An – gần 1,000 công nhân đình công đòi quyền lợi
************************15/11/2015************************
Hanoi Prosecutes Attacks against Two Human Rights Lawyers
The Police Investigation Agency of the Hanoi Police Department on November 13 issued a decision to launch an investigation into the assault of human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan by thugs in Chuong My district on November 3.
The decision was made based on the victims’ report and their request as well as demands of some legislators, the Vietnam Bar Association and the Hanoi Bar Association.
On November 10, Hanoi police said their investigation showed that no policeman was involved in the assault against the two lawyers and the cause of the incident was because the car of the lawyers caused dust on the road affecting the attackers.
The victims rejected the police’s conclusion, saying it is not objective and reaffirming that a policeman named Cuu was active in the assault.
SBTN: Chính thức khởi tố vụ án hai luật sư bị hành hung
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November 16, 2015
Vietnam Human Rights Defenders’ Weekly November 09-15: Vietnam’s Communist Government Starts Campaign to Suppress Local Lawyers Ahead of Ruling Party’s National Congress
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], DEFENDER’S WEEKLY
Defenders’ Weekly | Nov 15, 2015
Vietnam’s communist government has launched a campaign to suppress local human rights lawyers, with the one-day detention of prominent lawyer Tran Vu Hai by Hanoi security forces on November 12 being the latest incident.
One week earlier, on November 3, masked thugs and a police officer in Hanoi brutally assaulted lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan, causing serious injuries to the duo when they visited the family of Do Dang Du, the boy who died on October 10 after being fatally injured during detention.
Around 200 lawyers in Hanoi have sent a joint letter to a number of relevant agencies to demand thorough investigation to bring to justice the perpetrators of the attack against their two colleagues.
Street musician Ta Tri Hai, 75, was barbarically attacked by a thug in the late evening of November 10 due to his patriotic and pro-democracy songs. The pro-government thug broke his fingers and destroyed his violin as well as threw his instrument into Hoan Kiem Lake in central Hanoi.
On early November 8, police in Lam Ha district, the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong detained and severely beat two former political prisoners Tran Minh Nhat and Chu Manh Son when they were on their way from Ho Chi Minh City to Nhat’s home in Lam Ha.
and many other important news.
************10/11/2015**************
Torture, Inhumane Treatment in Vietnam Detention Facilities at Alarming Level: Legislator
Police torture and other degrading treatment in Vietnamese prisons and detention facilities have become out of control, said Truong Trong Nghia, member of Vietnam’s legislative body National Assembly (NA).
Speaking at a parliament’s discussion on the draft Law on Custody and Temporary Detention on November 9, the Danang city-based legislator said cruel treatment in police detention facilities has become more and more serious, causing numerous deaths of detainees and miscarriages of justice in the past few years.
Most of the victims of police torture and inhumane treatments have not made denunciation against the perpetrators due to fear or because they were forced to commit not to accuse their torturer after being released, Mr. Nghia said.
The lawmaker said police must respect human rights of detainees who are innocent until being proven guilty by courts.
According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, police torture is a systemic problem in Vietnam. Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) reported that 226 detainees and prisoners died between October 2011 and September 2014. The police said most of their deaths were caused by illness and suicides while their families believed that torture and inhumane treatments were the real causes of the deaths.
Mr. Nghia suggested that all prisons and detention facilities should be under management of the Ministry of Justice. These facilities are now under the control of the MoPS, particularly its Investigation Police Agency and the Investigation Security Agency, which hold detainees while the Ministry’s General Department of Criminal Enforcement and Judicial Assistance oversees all prisons where prisoners are kept.
The detention facilities should be independent from agencies conducting criminal investigation, he noted. Criminal suspects must be able to exercise the right to meet with lawyers for unlimited times during pre-trial detention, he added.
The draft Law on Criminal Procedure Code, which is under discussion of the communist-controlled parliament, should prioritize assumption of innocence and request investigation agencies to immediately release detainees if they fail to collect solid evidences against them, Mr. Nghia said.
Concerned about rising torture and other cruel treatment in police detention facilities, legislator Nguyen Thi Kha from Tra Vinh province said the MoPS’s General Department of Criminal Enforcement and Judicial Assistance should manage all prisons and detention facilities in the country.
Agreeing with the proposal of Ms. Kha, Soc Trang province-based lawmaker Nguyen Tuyet Lien said that the separation of the remand prisons from the investigation agencies would secure the independence of their operations and help to prevent police torture.
Legislator Pham Truong Dan from the central province of Quang Nam said the detention facilities should be transferred to the General Department of Police and the General Department of Security, the upper levels of the two investigation agencies, in order to better serve the investigative operations.
Khanh Hoa province-based legislator Le Minh Hien proposed that the Law on Custody and Temporary Detention should require that detainees and suspects not be held in the same cell with sentenced persons, especially those sentenced to life imprisonment and death penalty.
Other legislators asked separate rooms for detained homosexual individuals and minors.
Many legislators have also expressed their concerns how the state can provide remedies for those who die during pre-trial detention. In practice, the case automatically closes without conclusion if a suspect dies before trial.
Last year, Vietnam ratified the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. However, the situation has remained unimproved as around ten people have been founded dead or severely injured in police stations nationwide so far this year.
DTD: Torture, Inhumane Treatment in Vietnam Detention Facilities at Alarming Level: Legislator
==============================
Vietnam Central Highlands Police Severely Beat Local Dissident, Questioning Another Pro-democracy Activist
Police in Vietnam’s Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on November 8 brutally beat Tran Minh Nhat, a local political dissident, and detained pro-democracy activist Chu Manh Son for interrogation.
The assault happened on Sunday when Mr. Nhat and Mr. Son, two former prisoners of conscience, were on their way from Ho Chi Minh City to Lam Ha district where Nhat resides.
Mr. Son, who completed his 30-month imprisonment in February last year, said that in early Sunday morning when they were on a bus, policemen stopped the bus and attacked Nhat, who was released on August 27 after four years in jail but still under another four years of house arrest.
Mr. Nhat said a policeman named Minh blocked him while another policeman named Long barbarically beat him in the bus under witness of other passengers.
Later, policemen detained the two pro-democracy activists at the police station in Dinh Van ward, Lam Ha district for interrogation, and released them in late evening of the same day.
Police robbed a cell phone and a camera memory card from Mr. Son and four books from Mr. Nhat as well as some T-shirts with logos which call for human rights and multi-party democracy.
Dinh Huy Thai, head of the Lam Ha district police, threatened the duo that the police will not ensure security for them when they go out of the police station. In fact, police sent thugs to chase the two activists but the two former political prisoners successfully avoided being attacked.
Nhat, 27, is now under home treatment for serious injuries caused by the assault. He does not want to go to public hospitals because of the risks of being attacked by police, he said.
Since being freed in late August, Nhat has been constantly harassed by local authorities who often summon him to local police station for interrogation.
On August 28, one day after he returned home from a prison, a number of activists came to visit him. On their way back, the visitors were brutally attacked by local police. The victims included land rights activist Ms. Tran Thi Nga, a member of the unsanctioned Vietnam Women for Human Rights, Mr. Truong Minh Tam, a member of the unregistered Vietnam Pathway, Mr. Le Dinh Luong, younger uncle of human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan, and a young couple who want to remain unnamed. Mr. Son was also among the activists severely assaulted by the police. Son, Tam and Luong were severely beaten, with many injuries and bleeding on their faces and heads.
Vietnam’s police have intensified crackdown against local political dissidents and human rights activists nationwide few months ahead of the ruling communist party’s National Congress slated in early 2016.
Police arrested former political prisoner Tran Anh Kim from Thai Binh and Nguyen Viet Dung, the leader and founder of the unsanctioned Republican Party of Vietnam and charged them under controversial Articles 79 and 245 of the country’s Penal Code, respectively. They remain in pre-trial detention.
According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, Vietnam is holding between 150 and 200 prisoners of conscience. Hanoi denies this by saying only law violators are being imprisoned.
In addition, security forces have also deployed plainclothes agents or hired thugs to attack pro-democracy activists and human rights defenders in many localities, including the capital city of Hanoi. Among victims of government-backed assaults are human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan, bloggers Doan Trang, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, Truong Van Dung, Nguyen Chi Tuyen, Trinh Anh Tuan, Tran Duc Thach, and Truong Minh Huong.
On November 6, in order to block labor activist Do Thi Minh Hanh from attending anti-China protest on the occasion of the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Vietnam, security forces in Ho Chi Minh City locked her apartment.
Pro-government thugs in Hanoi have threatened local human rights activists and political dissidents, including Ms. Mai Phuong Thao (Thao Teresa) and Mr. Trinh Ba Phuong as well as blogger Nguyen Lan Thang.
The Communist Party of Vietnam has ruled the country for decades and it vows to make all efforts to keep the country under a one-party regime. The communist leaders have requested the police forces not to allow the formation of opposition party nor tolerate any government criticism.
SBTN: Công an huyện Lâm Hà hành hung người yêu nước ngay đồn công an
RFA: Chính sách hăm dọa, sách nhiễu đánh đập của công an còn tồn tại đến bao giờ
=========================================
No Policeman Participated in Assault Against Two Human Rights Lawyers: Hanoi Authorities
Policemen had not taken part in beating two human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan on November 3, contrary to the victims’ claim, said the Hanoi Department of Police at a press conference on November 10.
The police in the capital city said the assault, committed by eight individuals in Chuong My district, was triggered by a traffic dispute as the attackers got angry from gas emission and dust caused by the car driven by the two lawyers.
The police released the result of the investigation on the case based on the confessions of the attackers.
On Tuesday last week, lawyers Nam and Luan, the two legal consultants of the family of Do Dang Du, the 17-year-old boy who died on October 10 due to severe injuries he suffered in detention, visited the family in Dong Phuong Yen commune, Chuong My district in a bid to help the family seek justice for the boy’s death.
On their way back, about 100 meters from the family’s house, the car of the two lawyers was stopped by a group of masked thugs who brutally attacked the lawyers. The victims said they recognized one of the attackers as a policeman named Cuu in the commune.
The preliminary medical examination showed that Nam’s nose was broken and his eyes were also injured. He will go further medical test to check whether his brain was affected by the attacks. Lawyer Luan had also a number of injuries on his face and body.
When informed about the attack, Mr. Phan Trung Hoai, vice president of the Vietnam Bar Federation said he contacted a senior official of the Ministry of Public Security and a deputy chief of the Hanoi Police Department on the attack and the two pledged to launch an investigation on the case. Mr. Hoai also said the federation will also send its letter to relevant agencies to report the case and demand them to take proper measures to protect lawyers.
The attack was made one day after Major General Nguyen Duc Chung, head of the city’s Police Department, was elected to become one of four deputy secretaries of the Hanoi communist party’s People’s Committee for the 2015-2020 period. Chung is expected to be appointed as the chairman of the city’s People’s Committee in mid-2016.
The assault against Nam and Luan is among a series of recent attacks against local government critics and human rights activists.
In the evenings of October 21 and 23, government supporters in Hanoi attacked blogger Nguyen Lan Thang’s wife Le Bich Vuong and social activist Nguyen The Trung, his friend.
In the evening of October 30, thugs, with support of the Hanoi police, attacked local activists when they held a party in a restaurant in Dong Da district to mark the 4th anniversary of the founding of No-U Football Club, a soccer team of activists who oppose China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea.
In late October, thugs in Dong Phuong Yen also beat blogger Truong Dung and other activists when they visited Du’s family to share sympathy over his death.
Meanwhile, the death of Du in Hanoi-based Xa La detention facility is still unresolved. Police said he was beaten by a cellmate while observers said the explanation of the detention facility’s authorities on the case is disputed.
The victim’s family is reportedly seeking justice from the UN Human Rights Council while the local police is trying to persuade the family not to appeal the case.
SBTN: Công an Hà Nội: Luật sư Thu Nam bị đánh vì phóng xe hơi gây bụi
Công an Hà Nội khẳng định công an xã không đánh 2 luật sư: Đó là côn đồ xã
***********************11/11/2015**********************
Ho Chi Minh City Activists Send Letter to Condemn Local Police Harassment
A group of dozens of activists in Ho Chi Minh City have filed their joint letter to state and government leaders to condemn the harassments of the local police who blocked their houses and restricted their movements on November 5-6 in a bid to prevent them from attending anti-China protests in the city on the occasion of the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Vietnam.
In their letter, they accused Major General Le Dong Pong of committing human rights violations by sending security agents to their residential places on the two days.
The signatories reaffirmed that they oppose China’s expansionism in the East Sea.
They said security agents blocked their houses without any legal basis.
They urged state agencies to investigate and bring law violators to courts.
TPHCM: Thư khiếu nại của những công dân bị vi phạm nghiêm trọng quyền tự do đi lại
***********************12/11/2015*********************
Hundreds of Vietnamese Lawyers Plan Street Demonstration to Seek Justice for Two Colleagues
A group of around 200 Vietnamese lawyers have planned to hold street demonstrations to demand for justice for their two colleagues who were brutally assaulted by thugs last week.
They planned to go to the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme People’s Procuracy and the Hanoi Police Department’s headquarters to demand for a thorough investigation into the attack against human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan on Tuesday [November 3] committed by masked thugs in Chuong My district, Hanoi.
They will also ask the country’s parliament to remove the regulation which requires lawyers to obtain approval before providing legal consultation to their clients.
The timetable for the protest will be publicized later, the lawyers said. They call on other colleagues and the Vietnamese public to support them in seeking justice for the two attacked human rights lawyers.
The move was planned after the Hanoi police released the results of an investigation into the assault against Mr. Nam and Mr. Luan after the duo visited the family of Do Dang Du, the 17-year-old boy who died on October 10 due to severe injuries he suffered during detention in the Hanoi-based Detention Facility No. 3.
At a press conference in Hanoi on November 10, representatives of the city’s Police Department said the assault, committed by eight individuals in Chuong My district, was triggered by a traffic dispute as the attackers got angry from gas emission and dust caused by the car of the two lawyers.
The police also rejected the victims’ accusation that one of the attackers is a local policeman named Cuu. According to the police, the attackers are Dong Phuong Yen commune-based farmers Dang Quang Huy, Nguyen Duy Ninh, Luu Cong Thang, Do Xuan Nguyen, Cao Van Huan, Nguyen Duy Manh, and Hoang Dinh Dan and communal accountant Nguyen Gia Tu.
The police released the result of the investigation on the case based on the confessions of the attackers.
Danang City-based Legislator Truong Trong Nghia said if the police’s investigation results were true, the country’s orders must be at warning level.
The lawmaker, who supports legal reforms to enhance human rights protection in the communist nation, urged Hanoi’s authorities to carefully investigate the case and bring the attackers to the court. He noted that the investigation has slowly progressed in many cases in which lawyers are victims.
Lawyers Nam and Luan are still under medical treatment. The preliminary medical checking showed that Nam’s nose was broken and his eyes were also injured. He will go further medical test to check whether his brain was affected by the attacks. Lawyer Luan had also a number of injuries in his face and body.
When informed about the attack, Mr. Phan Trung Hoai, vice president of the Vietnam Bar Federation said he contacted a senior official of the Ministry of Public Security and a deputy chief of the Hanoi Police Department to discuss the attack and the two pledged to launch an investigation on the case. Mr. Hoai also said the federation will also send its letter to relevant agencies to report the case and demand them to take proper measures to protect lawyers.
The attack occured one day after Major General Nguyen Duc Chung, head of the city’s Police Department, was elected to become one of four deputy secretaries of the Hanoi communist party’s People’s Committee for the 2015-2020 period. Chung is set to be appointed as the chairman of the city’s People’s Committee in mid-2016.
The assault against Nam and Luan, who try to help the family of Du to seek justice for his death, is among a series of recent attacks against local government critics and human rights activists, observers said.
Deploying plainclothes agents or using thugs to attack political dissidents and human rights activist is the new tactics of the Vietnamese communist government which strives to prevent the formation of any opposition movement.
RFA: Hơn 200 luật sư gởi kiến nghị cải cách tư pháp sau vụ 2 luật sư bị tấn công
======================================
Foreign Diplomats Hold Hearing on Death Penalty of Le Van Manh
On November 10, many foreign diplomats gathered at the office of the EU’s Delegation to Vietnam in Hanoi to hear about the case of Le Van Manh, who was sentenced to death in trials which were unfair and failed to meet a number of international standards.
Lawyer Tran Vu Hai briefed the case and recent developments. A group of human rights lawyers led by him already sent a petition to the Supreme People’s Court to demand for suspension of execution of Manh who complained that he was tortured by police officers during interogation and the courts relied on his coerced confession in the case of the death of a 14-year-old girl in the central province of Thanh Hoa.
Foreign diplomats said they are very concerned by the case. They said Vietnam should remove capital punishment and ensure fair trials.
Vietnamese bloggers raised concerns about torture and other cruel treatments in prisons and detention facilities which caused 226 deaths between October 2011 and September 2014.
SBTN: Đại diện nhiều lãnh sự họp nghe tường trình vụ án tử tù Lê Văn Mạnh
Các đại sứ quán họp nghe tường trình về vụ án Lê Văn Mạnh
==================================
Angered by Patriotic Songs, Vietnam Pro-Gov’t Thug Breaks Fingers of Old Street Musician, Destroys His Instruments
A Vietnamese street musician who often sings patriotic songs was brutally attacked by a pro-government thug in the capital city of Hanoi on November 10 amid rising violence against political dissidents and human rights activists in the communist nation.
Mr. Ta Tri Hai, 75, reported that the big thug assaulted him around 9.30 PM when he played for people in the Ho Guom Lake in Hanoi’s center. The man beat the old musician, breaking his fingers and destroying his violin as well as throwing his other instruments into the lake.
During the attack, the thug said he was angry about the songs the old musician often sing which defame late President Ho Chi Minh, the Vietnamese communist leader and the founder of the communist state.
Mr. Hai, an anti-China activist, said local police came but allowed the attacker to go away freely.
The old musician is spending all his time in the city’s center to play music for visitors and local residents. Every evening, dozens of people gather on the lakeside pavement to listen to his patriotic songs and other songs which promote multi-party democracy and human rights, some of which were written by him.
He has participated in numerous demonstrations in which Vietnamese protest China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the past five years.
Mr. Hai is a loyal member of the No-U Football Club, a soccer team of Vietnamese activists who oppose China’s expansionism in the resource-rich East Sea which is very important for international navigation.
Due to his activities, Mr. Hai was detained by police several times. He has become a figure unwelcome by Hanoi’s authorities which have regularly harassed him. The old musician said Hanoi police have pressured landlords, demanding them not to allow him to rent a room for overnight stays.
Mr. Hai said he was threatened many times by pro-government thugs and plainclothes agents when he sing patriotic songs condemning China’s aggressiveness in the East Sea.
In 2012, Vietnam jailed two music compositors for writing patriotic songs condemning China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty and protesting Vietnam’s crackdown against anti-China activists. The People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City sentenced Tran Vu Anh Binh to six years and Vo Minh Tri to four years in prison for anti-state propaganda.
The attack against Mr. Hai is among numerous assaults of pro-government thugs against pro-democracy and human rights activists recently.
Many bloggers, including photographer Nguyen Lan Thang and his wife Le Bich Vuong, Nguyen Chi Tuyen, Trinh Tuan Anh, Nguyen Tuong Thuy and Tran Thi Nga have been harassed and attacked by pro-government thugs and plainclothes agents.
Thugs backed by the Hanoi police on October 30 attacked activists when they gathered in a local restaurant to mark the 4th anniversary of the founding of No-U FC, injuring some participants and causing damages to the restaurant. Numerous policemen and security agents stayed outside of the restaurant and did not respond to the call for help.
Four days later, thugs and a policeman in Hanoi city’s Chuong My district, assaulted two human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan after the duo visited the family of Do Dang Du, the 17-year-old boy who died on October 10 after suffering serious injuries during detention in the Hanoi-based Detention Facility No. 3.
On November 5, security forces in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City violently supressed anti-China protests on the occasion of the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Southeast Asian nation. Police brutally beat a number of anti-China activists in Saigon and detained around 50 protestors in the two cities.
Vietnam has tightened political control several months ahead of the ruling communist party’s National Congress slated in early 2016. Feared by the victory of the democratic forces in the general election in Myanmar last week, the communist government in Hanoi is striving not to allow the formation of the opposition party as the ruling communists want to keep the country under a one-party regime.
SBTN: Nghệ sĩ đường phố Tạ Trí Hải bị côn đồ hành hung vì những bài hát chống cộng
Nóng: Nghệ sĩ đường phố Tạ Trí Hải bị côn đồ tấn công giữa trung tâm thủ đô
Angered by Patriotic Songs, Vietnam Pro-Gov’t Thug Breaks Fingers of Old Street Musician, Destroying His Instruments
***********************13/11/2015**********************
Hanoi Police Detain Prominent Lawyer amid Rising Violence against Local Activists
Security forces in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi on November 12 detained prominent lawyer Tran Vu Hai in a bid to halt the planned demonstration against violence targeting human rights lawyers.
In early of Thursday, police blocked the apartment of lawyer Hai and detained him when he was heading to his office. Security forces took him to a police station in Xuan La ward for questioning for the whole day.
Hai was detained ahead of the planned demonstrations of many lawyers aimed at the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme People’s Procuracy and the Hanoi Police Department’s headquarters to demand for a thorough investigation into the attack against human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan on Tuesday [November 3] committed by masked thugs in Chuong My district, Hanoi.
Yesterday, around 200 lawyers in Hanoi signed a joint petition to relevant agencies to request a full investigation into the assault as well as ask the country’s parliament to remove the regulation which requires lawyers to obtain approval before providing legal consultation to their clients.
Police said they detained Mr. Hai because of an accusation against him in a land seizure in the northern province of Thai Nguyen. However, the real reason for the detention is his key role in the planned protest of lawyers.
Hai, who is director of the Hanoi-based Tran Vu Hai Law Co., is among few lawyers who have been providing legal assistance to defendants in political cases and land seizure cases involving senior state cadres in many localities.
Speaking from the second floor of the Xuan La ward police headquarters during his detention, Hai said the detention is a personal revenge of Major General Nguyen Duc Chung, head of the Hanoi Police Department, against him. In April-May, Hai accused Gen. Chung of involvement in the massive downing of thousands of aged valuable trees in the city’s main streets and their replacement with young trees unsuitable for urban conditions.
Gen. Chung is a rising political star in Vietnam. He was recently elected to be deputy secretary of the city’s communist party Committee and set to be elected as the chairman of the city’s People’s Committee next year.
Chung is known for ordering severe suppression of government’s critics and human rights defenders under his leadership of the city’s police in the past two years.
In response to Hai’s detention, hundreds of his friends, colleagues, activists and clients as well as land petitioners gathered in front of the Xuan La police station to condemn the illegal detention and demand for his immediate release. The local authorities deployed numerous police officers, plainclothes agents and militia to the site. They also sent two buses and threatened to detain protestors, as they did in previous demonstrations against China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea.
In the late afternoon, police agreed to release Mr. Hai who refused to go out without making a minute which would state that the Hanoi detained him illegally.
In turn, police refused to make such a minute, saying they did not detain him.
Finally, they reached a consensus to make a working minute and Hai filled a 11-page statement condemning the detention. Hai was freed at 9.30 pm, 13.5 hours after being held.
He was warmly welcomed by people waiting outside who vowed to stay overnight there in case the police refuse to free the lawyer.
Hai’s detention took place nine days after eight masked thugs and a policeman named Cuu in Dong Phuong Yen commune, Chuong My district brutally beat human rights lawyers Nam and Luan when the duo visited the family of Do Dang Du, the 17-year-old boy who died on October 10 due to severe injuries he suffered during detention in Detention Facility No. 3 in Hanoi,
At a press conference in Hanoi on November 10, representatives of the city’s Police Department said the assault, committed by eight individuals in Chuong My district, was triggered by a traffic dispute as the attackers got angry from gas emission and dust caused by the car of the two lawyers.
The police also rejected the victims’ accusation that one of the attackers is a local policeman. According to the police, the attackers are Dong Phuong Yen commune-based farmers Dang Quang Huy, Nguyen Duy Ninh, Luu Cong Thang, Do Xuan Nguyen, Cao Van Huan, Nguyen Duy Manh, and Hoang Dinh Dan and communal accountant Nguyen Gia Tu.
The police released the result of the investigation on the case based on the confessions of the attackers.
Also at the press conference, Gen. Chung said the situation in Chuong My district is complicated and outsiders should inform the local police to avoid troubles.
Danang City-based Legislator Truong Trong Nghia said if the police’s investigation results were true, the country’s public orders must be at an alarming level.
The lawmaker, who supports legal reforms to enhance human rights protection in the communist nation, urged Hanoi’s authorities to carefully investigate the case and bring the attackers to justice. He noted that the investigation has progressed slowly in many cases in which lawyers are victims.
The assault against Nam and Luan, who try to help the family of Du to seek justice for his death, is among a series of recent attacks against local government critics and human rights activists, observers said.
Deploying plainclothes agents or using criminals to attack political dissidents and human rights activist is the new tactics of the Vietnamese communist government which strives to prevent the formation of any opposition movements.
SBTN: Luật sư Trần Vũ Hải bị an ninh thường phục dùng vũ lực bắt cóc
Bắt giữ Luật sư Trần Vũ Hải gây ảnh hưởng xấu đến nền tư pháp Việt Nam
Hanoi Police Shortly Detain Prominent Lawyer amid Rising Violence against Local Activists
RFI: Việt Nam : Luật sư bị trấn áp trước khi tuần hành phản đối đồng nghiệp bị hành hung
BBC: Luật sư Hải rời đồn công an
LS Hải: Công an bắt luật sư ‘như súc vật’
Trần Vũ Hải – Đơn tố cáo công an bắt giữ người trái pháp luật và xâm phạm nhân phẩm công dân
**********************14/11/2015************************
1,000 Workers in Nghe An Hold Strike
On November 13, around 1,000 workers of MLB Tenegry Co. Ltd in Yen Thanh district in Vietnam’s central city of Nghe An started their strike to demand for better working conditions.
Particularly, they demand for better lunch, bonus on national holidays, and an end to groundless punishments.
SBTN: Nghệ An – gần 1,000 công nhân đình công đòi quyền lợi
************************15/11/2015************************
Hanoi Prosecutes Attacks against Two Human Rights Lawyers
The Police Investigation Agency of the Hanoi Police Department on November 13 issued a decision to launch an investigation into the assault of human rights lawyers Tran Thu Nam and Le Van Luan by thugs in Chuong My district on November 3.
The decision was made based on the victims’ report and their request as well as demands of some legislators, the Vietnam Bar Association and the Hanoi Bar Association.
On November 10, Hanoi police said their investigation showed that no policeman was involved in the assault against the two lawyers and the cause of the incident was because the car of the lawyers caused dust on the road affecting the attackers.
The victims rejected the police’s conclusion, saying it is not objective and reaffirming that a policeman named Cuu was active in the assault.
SBTN: Chính thức khởi tố vụ án hai luật sư bị hành hung