Second Vietnamese Activist Kidnapped, Robbed in Three Days amid Tightening Security ahead of the Communist Party’s National Congress

Mr. Tam after being kidnapped, beaten and robbed on Jan 9, 2016

by Vu Quoc Ngu, Jan 09, 2016

Mr. Truong Minh Tam, a member of the unsanctioned Vietnam Path Movement which fights for multi-party democracy and human rights enhancement in the Southeast Asian communist nation, has become the second victim of kidnap and robbery in the last three days.

In early morning of January 9, Mr. Tam arrived in the central province of Nghe An from Hanoi where he was invited to participate in a wedding of a local activist. After getting off a bus, he was kidnapped by four thugs who took him in a car and drove to a football field. The kidnappers said they are local policemen investigating a theft case in which victims described a suspect’s appearance similar to Mr. Tam’s.

The kidnappers confiscated Tam’s cell phone and when another car came, they took his suitcase which contained a laptop, personal documents and VND40 million ($1,770). Later, they took him in the car again and drove to the neighbor province of Thanh Hoa, where the thugs threw him on road after taking all his clothes except underclothes amid winter’s cold.

Tam said the kidnappers did not ask him about the theft case but robbed all his items and money, including his three-month salaries and gifts from other activists to the groom. Tam, who is also a former prisoner of conscience, had to wear old clothes from local residents in Do Len. With VND100,000 of donation from a local resident, he took a bus back to Ha Nam where he contacted his friends and relatives for support.

Mr. Ho Van Luc, the groom, said local security forces tightened control during his wedding, stationing officers in many places on roads from the bus station to his private house in a bid to threaten his guests from other localities.

In his interview given to human rights activist Tran Thi Nga in Ha Nam province, Tam said he did not blame Vietnam’s security forces for the kidnapping and robbing, however, he expressed deep concerns about worsening social security. Vietnam is not ruled by laws but by gangsters, he said.

Truong Minh Tam, an active protester against China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea, completed his one-year imprisonment on the fabricated charge of conducting financial fraud in October 2014. After returning home, Mr. Tam said in an interview to Radio Free Asia, that Vietnam’s government accused him of conducting financial fraud, but in fact, his case was political and during interrogations, investigating officers always ignored about the allegation but questioned him about his social activities instead.

After the trial and the appeal, he was placed in Prison No. 5 of the Ministry of Public Security in Yen Dinh district in Thanh Hoa province. He spent 167 days in a special room where prisoners are treated like animals without basic human rights.

In August last year, Tam was attacked and robbed after re-visiting the prison to take all legal documentation to prepare for challenging Vietnam’s authorities for illegally imprisoning him. He believed that police was behind the attack.

Since being released, Mr. Tam has devoted his life to fight for human rights enhancement as well as promote multi-party democracy in Vietnam. He also visited the U.S. in June last year and participated in a hearing of the U.S. Congress about torture and ill-treatment against prisoners, especially political prisoners in Vietnam. During the event, Tam condemned inhumane treatment of political prisoners at the hands of prison authorities, especially Dang Xuan Dieu, who was sentenced to 13 years in jail for peaceful political activities.

The kidnap and robbery of Tam is similar to the incident in Nghe An province on December 6 last year in which a group of around 20 local security agents kidnapped, assaulted, and robbed human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and his three colleagues after they attended a meeting to mark International Human Rights Day.

Two days earlier, on January 7, Mr. Nguyen Huy Tuan, a land rights activist in the northern province of Hai Duong, was also kidnapped, beaten and robbed by local security agents. The attackers beat him severely and took his suitcase consisting of an iPad, an iPhone and VND10 million.

The attacks against Vietnamese political dissidents, social activists and human rights are part of the ongoing persecution of the communist government which aims to silence government critics ahead of the 12th National Congress of the ruling communist party which strives to keep the country under a one-party regime.

Other victims of security officers and thugs are bloggers Doan Trang, JB Nguyen Huu Vinh, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, Tran Thi Nga and Truong Van Dung, labor activists Do Thi Minh Hanh and Truong Minh Duc, former political prisoners Tran Minh Nhat and Chu Manh Son.

Vietnam’s communist leaders have publicly ordered security forces to prevent the establishment of opposition parties while Minister of Public Security General Tran Dai Quang labeled 60 unregistered civil society organizations as “reactionary groups.”

In mid December last year, Vietnam arrested human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Ms. Le Thu Ha, accusing them of conducting anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of the Penal Code. The communist government also decided to try prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh and his assistant Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, who were arrested in May 2014 and charged with conducting anti-state activities under Article 258 of the Penal Code.

The governments and many politicians of the U.S. and EU countries as well as international human rights groups have called on the Vietnamese government to immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Dai, Ms. Thuy, Mr. Vinh and Ms. Ha and drop all charges against them, as well as free all prisoners of conscience. According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, Vietnam is holding 130 political prisoners.

Foreign governments and international human rights groups have also asked Vietnam to stop persecution against local dissidents, social activists and human rights defenders, conduct serious investigations and bring perpetrators to court.

Political observers said the communist government in Vietnam may continue to arrest other activists and its persecution against local critics in the coming days, before and during the communist’s National Congress slated for January 20-28.