Ms. Lai (second from right) at a peaceful gathering protesting Formosa in 2016
By Defend the Defenders, February 12, 2017
On the evening of February 12, Nguyen Thi Thai Lai, a female environmentalist and outspoken anti-China activist in Vietnam’s central city of Nha Trang, was brutally beaten by four plainclothes agents, the victim said on her Facebook page.
Lai, who often attended peaceful demonstrations against China’s violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and the Taiwanese Formosa Steel Plant, which caused an environmental disaster in the country’s central coastal areas in 2016, said she and her friend were stopped by plainclothes agents on the street and that they knocked her down on the ground and started to beat her until she lost consciousness.
The attackers left the scene after causing severe injuries to the female activist, who is over 50 years old.
After receiving medical treatment, Ms. Lai went to the police station in Van Thanh ward to report the assault. There, she saw the attackers talking with police officers but the police rejected having any connection with them or the incident. However, they did not take any action against the attackers.
Lai said she and her friends were under close surveillance of security agents on Sunday but she did not expect being attacked as they had no plan to hold public demonstrations.
Ms. Lai is a member of a group of activists in Nha Trang who strongly oppose China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea, demand a thorough investigation of the Formosa disaster and its consequences in the central coastal region, as well as proper compensation for the victims, and request justice for all persons who have been found dead in police stations nationwide in the last few years.
One of the leaders of the group, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, was arrested in October 10 last year and charged with conducting “anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. She is facing up to 20 years in jail, according to the Vietnamese law.
Using plainclothes agents to attack local activists is not a new trick of Vietnam’s security forces. Nearly a hundred political dissidents, social activists and human rights advocates have been brutally beaten by under-cover police officers in recent years. The victims include La Viet Dung, Truong Dung, Nguyen Bac Truyen together with his wife, Nguyen Van Dai, Truong Minh Duc, Truong Minh Tam, and Tran Thi Nga.
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February 12, 2017
Vietnam Activist Assaulted by Thugs, Seeing Them Talking with Police Later
by Nhan Quyen • Nguyen Thi Thai Lai
Ms. Lai (second from right) at a peaceful gathering protesting Formosa in 2016
By Defend the Defenders, February 12, 2017
On the evening of February 12, Nguyen Thi Thai Lai, a female environmentalist and outspoken anti-China activist in Vietnam’s central city of Nha Trang, was brutally beaten by four plainclothes agents, the victim said on her Facebook page.
Lai, who often attended peaceful demonstrations against China’s violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea) and the Taiwanese Formosa Steel Plant, which caused an environmental disaster in the country’s central coastal areas in 2016, said she and her friend were stopped by plainclothes agents on the street and that they knocked her down on the ground and started to beat her until she lost consciousness.
The attackers left the scene after causing severe injuries to the female activist, who is over 50 years old.
After receiving medical treatment, Ms. Lai went to the police station in Van Thanh ward to report the assault. There, she saw the attackers talking with police officers but the police rejected having any connection with them or the incident. However, they did not take any action against the attackers.
Lai said she and her friends were under close surveillance of security agents on Sunday but she did not expect being attacked as they had no plan to hold public demonstrations.
Ms. Lai is a member of a group of activists in Nha Trang who strongly oppose China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty in the East Sea, demand a thorough investigation of the Formosa disaster and its consequences in the central coastal region, as well as proper compensation for the victims, and request justice for all persons who have been found dead in police stations nationwide in the last few years.
One of the leaders of the group, Ms. Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, was arrested in October 10 last year and charged with conducting “anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. She is facing up to 20 years in jail, according to the Vietnamese law.
Using plainclothes agents to attack local activists is not a new trick of Vietnam’s security forces. Nearly a hundred political dissidents, social activists and human rights advocates have been brutally beaten by under-cover police officers in recent years. The victims include La Viet Dung, Truong Dung, Nguyen Bac Truyen together with his wife, Nguyen Van Dai, Truong Minh Duc, Truong Minh Tam, and Tran Thi Nga.