Mr. Ngo Duy Quyen in a peaceful demonstration to support blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh (Anh ba Sam)
Mr. Quyen said he was detained by a group of officers of the Hanoi Police Department in the early morning of April 13 when he was in his father’s house in the northern province of Bac Giang, about 60 kilometers from Hanoi.
By Vu Quoc Ngu, April 13, 2016
Ngo Duy Quyen, a Vietnamese human rights defender and pro-democracy activist, has been detained and threatened for the second time by Hanoi police several months in relation with a joint petition which demand to investigate police power abuse to authorities in the capital city.
Mr. Quyen said he was detained by a group of officers of the Hanoi Police Department in the early morning of April 13 when he was in his father’s house in the northern province of Bac Giang, about 60 kilometers from Hanoi.
The police said they need to take him to Hanoi because he had refused to come to police station as they summoned many time before.
Forcing the activist to go with them back to Hanoi, police did not allow him to inform his family about the detention. They brought him to the investigation agency for questioning for his role in sending the joint petition which was sent by Mr. Quyen via post five months ago. In the petition to then Minister of Public Security General Tran Dai Quang who was promoted as the country’s president last week, a number of Vietnam’s independent civil society organizations raised their concerns on recent deaths of many detainees in police stations and detention facilities.
During the one-day interrogation, police officers asked Mr. Quyen who took initiatives for issuing the petition but the activist refused to answer, saying police illegally detained him so he has no duty to cooperate with them.
Then police officers threatened that they may charge him of refusing to cooperate with investigating authorities under Article 308 of the Penal Code with maximum imprisonment of one year.
Later, police said they want to return some items they confiscated from the private apartment of Mr. Quyen’s mother-in-law on February 4 but he refused to take them back, saying police must return the items where they took.
After hours of fruitless interrogation, police released Quyen in late afternoon. Before releasing him, they gave him an appointment for the next meeting but he refused, saying their letter is incorrectly written as it did not clarify why he is being summoned.
This was the second detention of Quyen by Hanoi police within more than two months. On April 4, they kidnapped him as he was on the way to providing his farm produce to his clients in Hanoi. Later, police went to the apartment of his mother-in-law where his family lives to search the apartment, confiscating many personal items, including two laptops and four cell phones as well as many books and documents and a certain amount of money. Police verbally announced that they detained Mr. Quyen and searched his apartment to investigate his role in a case which “has signs” of “Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” under Article 258 of the country’s Penal Code. However, police neither gave him a copy of the warranties for the detention and the apartment search nor allowed him and his relatives to read the original documents. Police released him in mid-night of the same day.
Mr. Quyen, the husband of prominent former political prisoner Le Thi Cong Nhan and an older brother of former prisoner of conscience Ngo Quynh, is an anti-China activist, participating in many peaceful protests in Hanoi in the 2011-2014 period to protest China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea.
He had been detained many times during peaceful anti-Sino demonstrations in the 2011-2014 period.
Due to his political activities, he has been suppressed by local authorities. Under police’s pressure, Quyen was forced to quit his job as legal expert in a law company. He tried to work in other fields, however, he was forced to abandon them because he cannot tolerate with systemic corruption among state officials.
Finally, Quyen returned to his home town in Bac Giang, and together with his brother Quynh, he set up an organic farm for production of chicken, ducks, fish and vegetables. His high-quality products meet high demand, and he became regular supplier of safe farm produce for social activists in Hanoi and adjacent localities.
Quyen is a key member of a charity organization named People Solidarity which has granted financial assistance for prisoners of conscience and their families as well as land petitioners. The unsanctioned human rights body has provided limited but valuable supports for hundreds of activists nationwide.
Meanwhile, his wife Nhan is among key members of the Lao Dong Viet (Viet Labor) which fights for a right to form independent labor unions and provide legal assistance for Vietnamese workers.
Vietnam’s government has continued intensified crackdown against local political dissidents, human rights defenders and social activists as the country completed power transition after the ruling communist party’s 12th National Congress in late January. Last week, the parliament formally approved key state positions, including President Quang, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and top legislator Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
Many police officers have been promoted to key positions, including the state president, the chief of Supreme People’s Court and the chief of the Supreme People’s Procuracy.
In the last eight days of March, Vietnam imprisoned seven activists, including prominent bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Anh Ba Sam) and Nguyen Ngoc Gia (Nguyen Dinh Ngoc). A number of human rights activists, including pro-democracy lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, have been arrested.
On April 10, Hanoi security forces brutally assaulted and detained eight activists when they participated in a peaceful meeting to mark the 10th anniversary of the pro-democracy group Bloc 8406.
With more police generals to take key positions in the party and state agencies, Vietnam will continue its socialism path with priority to deepen comprehensive strategic partnership with China, who has intensified aggressiveness in the East Sea to turn the sea into its own lake, observers said, adding more political suppression will be seen in coming days.
According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, Vietnam is holding 130 political prisoners at least while Hanoi always denies of keeping any prisoner of conscience but only law violators.
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April 13, 2016
Hanoi-based Human Rights Defender Detained, Threatened On Relation with Petition against Police Torture
by Nhan Quyen • Ngo Duy Quyen
Mr. Ngo Duy Quyen in a peaceful demonstration to support blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh (Anh ba Sam)
By Vu Quoc Ngu, April 13, 2016
Ngo Duy Quyen, a Vietnamese human rights defender and pro-democracy activist, has been detained and threatened for the second time by Hanoi police several months in relation with a joint petition which demand to investigate police power abuse to authorities in the capital city.
Mr. Quyen said he was detained by a group of officers of the Hanoi Police Department in the early morning of April 13 when he was in his father’s house in the northern province of Bac Giang, about 60 kilometers from Hanoi.
The police said they need to take him to Hanoi because he had refused to come to police station as they summoned many time before.
Forcing the activist to go with them back to Hanoi, police did not allow him to inform his family about the detention. They brought him to the investigation agency for questioning for his role in sending the joint petition which was sent by Mr. Quyen via post five months ago. In the petition to then Minister of Public Security General Tran Dai Quang who was promoted as the country’s president last week, a number of Vietnam’s independent civil society organizations raised their concerns on recent deaths of many detainees in police stations and detention facilities.
During the one-day interrogation, police officers asked Mr. Quyen who took initiatives for issuing the petition but the activist refused to answer, saying police illegally detained him so he has no duty to cooperate with them.
Then police officers threatened that they may charge him of refusing to cooperate with investigating authorities under Article 308 of the Penal Code with maximum imprisonment of one year.
Later, police said they want to return some items they confiscated from the private apartment of Mr. Quyen’s mother-in-law on February 4 but he refused to take them back, saying police must return the items where they took.
After hours of fruitless interrogation, police released Quyen in late afternoon. Before releasing him, they gave him an appointment for the next meeting but he refused, saying their letter is incorrectly written as it did not clarify why he is being summoned.
This was the second detention of Quyen by Hanoi police within more than two months. On April 4, they kidnapped him as he was on the way to providing his farm produce to his clients in Hanoi. Later, police went to the apartment of his mother-in-law where his family lives to search the apartment, confiscating many personal items, including two laptops and four cell phones as well as many books and documents and a certain amount of money. Police verbally announced that they detained Mr. Quyen and searched his apartment to investigate his role in a case which “has signs” of “Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” under Article 258 of the country’s Penal Code. However, police neither gave him a copy of the warranties for the detention and the apartment search nor allowed him and his relatives to read the original documents. Police released him in mid-night of the same day.
Mr. Quyen, the husband of prominent former political prisoner Le Thi Cong Nhan and an older brother of former prisoner of conscience Ngo Quynh, is an anti-China activist, participating in many peaceful protests in Hanoi in the 2011-2014 period to protest China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea.
He had been detained many times during peaceful anti-Sino demonstrations in the 2011-2014 period.
Due to his political activities, he has been suppressed by local authorities. Under police’s pressure, Quyen was forced to quit his job as legal expert in a law company. He tried to work in other fields, however, he was forced to abandon them because he cannot tolerate with systemic corruption among state officials.
Finally, Quyen returned to his home town in Bac Giang, and together with his brother Quynh, he set up an organic farm for production of chicken, ducks, fish and vegetables. His high-quality products meet high demand, and he became regular supplier of safe farm produce for social activists in Hanoi and adjacent localities.
Quyen is a key member of a charity organization named People Solidarity which has granted financial assistance for prisoners of conscience and their families as well as land petitioners. The unsanctioned human rights body has provided limited but valuable supports for hundreds of activists nationwide.
Meanwhile, his wife Nhan is among key members of the Lao Dong Viet (Viet Labor) which fights for a right to form independent labor unions and provide legal assistance for Vietnamese workers.
Vietnam’s government has continued intensified crackdown against local political dissidents, human rights defenders and social activists as the country completed power transition after the ruling communist party’s 12th National Congress in late January. Last week, the parliament formally approved key state positions, including President Quang, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and top legislator Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
Many police officers have been promoted to key positions, including the state president, the chief of Supreme People’s Court and the chief of the Supreme People’s Procuracy.
In the last eight days of March, Vietnam imprisoned seven activists, including prominent bloggers Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Anh Ba Sam) and Nguyen Ngoc Gia (Nguyen Dinh Ngoc). A number of human rights activists, including pro-democracy lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, have been arrested.
On April 10, Hanoi security forces brutally assaulted and detained eight activists when they participated in a peaceful meeting to mark the 10th anniversary of the pro-democracy group Bloc 8406.
With more police generals to take key positions in the party and state agencies, Vietnam will continue its socialism path with priority to deepen comprehensive strategic partnership with China, who has intensified aggressiveness in the East Sea to turn the sea into its own lake, observers said, adding more political suppression will be seen in coming days.
According to the New York-based Human Rights Watch, Vietnam is holding 130 political prisoners at least while Hanoi always denies of keeping any prisoner of conscience but only law violators.