Defend the Defenders | June 04, 2017
===== May 29 =====
Female Catholic Teacher in Nghe An Beaten for Filming Police Attack against Civilian
Defend the Defenders: On May 28, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tra, a teacher on Catholic doctrine of the Song Ngoc parish, Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province was brutally beaten by police and non-Catholic people after she filmed an attack of police and thugs against a local woman.
In the morning of Sunday, Ms. Tra accidentally witnessed an incident in which a group of policemen and non-Catholic people brutally assaulted a female Catholic follower from the Song Ngoc parish. She stopped and used her smartphone to record the attack.
One of the attackers noticed her actiom and called on other to detain her. Ngoc ran away, hiding herself in a water closet of a local cafeteria. However, the attackers broke in and arrest her.
Police officers and thugs started beating her, demanding her to take off all clothes to search for her smart phones. They confiscated her three cell phones and asked her to open the devices. When she refused, they beat her again and took her to the police station of the Song Ngoc commune.
In the police station, they continued to beat and interrogate her until other Catholic followers in Phu Yen parish came to demand for her release. Some of parishioners were also beaten by thugs.
The attacks against Tra and another woman are part of increasing suppression against the Catholic community in the central region which is severely affected by the illegal discharge of toxic industrial waste of the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant in the local waters.
——————–
26 International, Domestic Organizations Calls for Immediate, Unconditional Release of Prisoner of Conscience Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh
Defend the Defenders: A group of 26 international and domestic organizations have jointly written an open letter sent to Vietnam’s senior leaders to demand for immediate and unconditional release of prisoner of conscience Protestant pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, who is serving his 11-year imprisonment in Xuan Loc prison located in the southern province of Dong Nai.
In the letter dated May 23 and addressed to President Tran Dai Quang, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan of Vietnam’s highest legislative body National Assembly, the signatories call on Vietnam’s authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh and fully restore his legal rights; carry out prompt, impartial, independent and effective investigations into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment made by Pastor Chinh and his wife Mrs. Tran Thi Hong and bring any identified perpetrators to justice following fair trials and provide reparations to Pastor Chinh and Mrs. Hong in accordance with Vietnam’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT); respect international human rights laws and standards generally including the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, speech, peaceful assembly and association in particular.
They said in the letter that the community of civil society organizations and human rights advocates in Southeast Asia and around the world continue to monitor closely the situation of Mrs. Hong and Pastor Chinh, and they will continue to do so until he is released and the criminal conviction is expunged through appropriate legal processes.
For details: Open Letter – Vietnam must immediately release prisoner of conscience Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh and end harassment of his family
For persecution against the pastor and his family, see our archives: /category/nguyen-cong-chinh-nguyen-thanh-long/
===== May 30-31 =====
Nghe An Threatens Outspoken Catholic Priest, Demolishing Followers’ Houses
Defend the Defenders: On May 30-31, authorities in Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province deployed a large number of police, militia and thugs to threaten outspoken Catholic priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc and demolish many private residences of Catholic followers in the Van Thai sub-parish, the Song Ngoc parish.
On the evening of May 30, authorities in Quynh Luu sent around 700 thugs with wooden bars and bricks and stones to the around of the Van Thai church when Father Thuc held a masses. They caused great noise and threw stones and bricks to the church and other private houses around.
Some Catholic followers were beaten by thugs while one female follower was injured from a glass broken by thugs.
When the church warned, mobile police came but did nothing to disperse the trouble-causing group. They offered to accompany Father Thuc to the Song Ngoc parish church where he resides, however, he rejected.
On the next day, thugs came to Van Thai and attacked many private houses of the local followers who were forced to leave their house to avoid being assaulted. Thugs broke in their house and destroyed their properties, including motorbikes, electronic devices, and roofs while police watched and did nothing to stop them.
A number of Catholic followers were beaten by thugs.
Earlier, on May 28, police and militia in Quynh Luu district held a drill near the Van Thai Church without informing the local residents. They exercised to take over the church, and fired many times to the church. When Catholic followers protested the drill, they sent militia and thugs to beat many protestors.
The recent actions of authorities in Quynh Luu aim to suppress local Catholic followers in Song Ngoc parish and Father Thuc, who have sought to demand fair compensation for the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant located in the neighbor province of Ha Tinh, and request the Taiwanese firm to stop all activities and leave Vietnam.
Quynh Luu district’s authorities have launched a campaign to distort Father Thuc in a bid to arrest him. In early May, authorities in Nghe An launched a public campaign against Catholic priests Dang Huu Nam and Nguyen Dinh Thuc of the Phu Yen parish. Both have been outspoken about the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant.
In particular, authorities in Quynh Luu district have requested local mass organizations such as the women’s association, the war veterans’ association, the youth communist delegation and school students to organize meetings and street demonstrations to condemn the two priests, who advocate for lawsuits against the Taiwanese-invested Formosa in relation to the environmental catastrophe it caused.
In mid-May, Nghe An authorities arrested Catholic follower Hoang Duc Binh, vice chairman of the Viet Labor Movement, and issued a national warrant of blogger Bach Hong Quyen, member of the Vietnam Pathway, for their assistance for the Catholic community in the Song Ngoc parish in seeking justice in relations with losses caused by Formosa.
Instead of making the Taiwanese Formosa Plastic Group to be accountable for their massive destruction to the environment, Vietnam’s government is more concerned about trying to control its people and to repress their freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly.
===== June 1 =====
Amnesty International Launches Campaign Calling International Community to Act for Release of HRD Hoang Duc Binh, Drop All Charge against Bach Hong Quyen
Defend the Defenders: On June 1, Amnesty International issued a statement urging international community to write letters to Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Minister of Public Security To Lam and Deputy Foreign Minister cum Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh to call on Vietnam’s authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release Hoang Duc Binh, who is a prisoner of conscience, held for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, and drop all charges against him and Bạch Hồng Quyền, for who police have issued an arrest warrant;
- Ensure an immediate end to arbitrary arrests, prosecutions, and harassment of human rights defenders and activists calling for transparency and accountability for the environmental disaster that occurred in April 2016;
- Uphold and facilitate the rights to freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression.
Mr. Binh, vice chairman of the Viet Labor Movement, was arrested on May 15 and charged with “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” under Article 257 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code, and “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” under Article 258. Under each charge he faces a possible sentence of between six months’ and seven years’ imprisonment.
Quyen, who is a member of the Vietnam Path Movement, a peaceful reform group not sanctioned by the authorities, is also being pursued by the authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest on May 12. He is currently in hiding and faces charges of “causing public disorder” for his alleged role in organizing a demonstration on April 3 calling for accountability and transparency in relation to the Formosa environmental disaster. Both his wife and parents have been visited by the authorities seeking his arrest.
As protests and demands for transparency and accountability continue in 2017, Vietnam’s authorities are responding with threats, harassment, intimidation and physical violence against those involved in organizing and submitting complaints. Human rights defenders and activists involved in organizing protests are being increasingly targeted.
On February15, Amnesty International called for the release of Nguyen Van Hoa, a blogger from KyAnh district, Ha Tinh province, who was arrested on January11, 2017. He had been helping fishermen affected by the Formosa ecological disaster.
Phil Roberston, deputy Asia director of the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch said that Vietnamese government should be investigating Formosa instead of investigating the people who are demanding it take action against the company.
“What we have seen is a greater level of oppression coming against those activists who are demanding that Formosa take responsibility,” he said.
“That is unfortunate because what it shows is that the government is more concerned about trying to control its people and to repress their freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful public assembly than it is about making a foreign company that was completely irresponsible and caused massive destruction to the environment … accountable.”
Vietnam: Crackdown on Formosa spill activists continues: Hoàng Đức Bình and Bạch Hồng Quyền
——————–
Family of Imprisoned HRD Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh under Heavy Surveillance as McCain Visits Cam Ranh international port
Defend the Defenders: On June 1, when John McCain and other U.S. Congress members visit Cam Ranh international port, authorities in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa held close surveillance over the family of imprisoned human rights defenders and environmentalist Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who was arrested on October 10, 2016 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s Penal Code.
Authorities in Nha Trang city deploy a large number of security officers to station near the private residence of Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, mother of blogger Quynh who is popular with penname Me Nam (Mother Mushroom). They even placed a truck near the house’s gate but replaced it with motorbikes when the family protested.
When Ms. Lan went to buy grocery, a group of four policemen followed her.
The police acts aim to prevent the family from eventual meeting with the U.S. legislators.
Last week, when Vietnam and the U.S. conducted their 21st Human Rights Dialogue, authorities in Nha Trang also blocked the family for several consecutive days, placing them de facto under house arrest.
Along with banning local activists and their relatives from going abroad, Vietnam’s authorities have blocked them from meeting with foreign diplomats and officials visiting the Southeast Asian nation.
——————–
Saigon-based Dissident Threatened to Be Extradited to France
Defend the Defenders: Political dissident Pham Minh Hoang, who has double Vietnamese-French citizenship, is under threat of being extradited to France as the Vietnamese government has revoked his Vietnamese citizenship.
Mr. Hoang, a university lecturer in mathematics, said he was informed by the French General Consul about the Vietnamese government’s decision recently.
Mr. Hoang, a former prisoner of conscience, may be not allowed to stay in Vietnam with his family, including his old mother and older brother, who is an invalid veteran of the South Vietnam.
Hoang was sent to France to study mathematics in 1973. When he returned, the communist soldiers took over the South Vietnam and unified the country. He hardly found his job until 2000 he started as a mathematics lecturer in the Saigon Polytechnics University.
In 2010, he was arrested for online writings and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to 17 months in prison and additional three years under house arrest.
After being released, Hoang met difficulties in teaching. Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have tried to cause problems for his French classes.
In 2016, police violently dispersed his class in democracy and human rights, confiscating many laptops of his students. He is under close surveillance of HCM City’s security forces.
Professor Hoang said he would stay in Vietnam, even in prison rather than living in other countries.
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June 4, 2017
Vietnam Human Rights Defenders’ Weekly May 29-June 04, 2017: Authorities in Nghe An Intensify Crackdown against Catholic Community
by Nhan Quyen • DEFENDER’S WEEKLY
Defend the Defenders | June 04, 2017
In recent days, authorities in Vietnam’s central province of Nghe An have intensified suppression against local Catholic priests and followers who are seeking adequate compensation from the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant which caused the biggest environmental disaster in the central coastal region last year by illegally discharging huge amount of toxic industrial waste into the local waters.
On May 28, authorities in Nghe An held a live drill near the Van Thai Church, Song Ngoc commune, Quynh Luu district and sent thugs to beat followers who protested the exercise in which participants learned how to invade the church and suppress parishioners.
On the same day, police and thugs brutally beat Catholic doctrine teacher Nguyen Thi Tra, demanding her to take off all clothes to search her cell phones they suspected that with them she filmed an attack of police officers and thugs against a woman in the Song Ngoc parish.
During the last two days of May, authorities in Quynh Luu district deployed a large number of police officers and militia and thousands of thugs to surrounding the Van Thai Church when priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc held masses there. They caused great noise to disturb the masses and threw stones and brick to local houses. Even they broke in many private residences of Van Thai parishioners and destroyed furniture and electronic devices, including TV sets, computers, washing machines, printers, photocopy machines, and motorbikes.
A number of Catholic followers of Van Thai were beaten.
On June 1, Amnesty International launched a campaign calling international community to write open letters to Vietnam’s leadership to demand for immediate and unconditional release of human rights defender Hoang Duc Binh and drop of all charges against blogger Bach Hong Quyen.
Also on June 1, dozens of international and domestic organizations sent a joint letter to Vietnam’s senior leaders to demand for immediate and unconditional release of prisoner of conscience Protestant pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, who is inhumanely treated while serving his 11-year imprisonment in Dong Nai province’s Xuan Loc prison.
Political dissident Pham Minh Hoang, who has double Vietnamese-French citizenship, is under threat of being extradited to France as the Vietnamese government has revoked his Vietnamese citizenship in revenge to his activities which aim to promote human rights and multi-party democracy in Vietnam.
And other news
===== May 29 =====
Female Catholic Teacher in Nghe An Beaten for Filming Police Attack against Civilian
Defend the Defenders: On May 28, Ms. Nguyen Thi Tra, a teacher on Catholic doctrine of the Song Ngoc parish, Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province was brutally beaten by police and non-Catholic people after she filmed an attack of police and thugs against a local woman.
In the morning of Sunday, Ms. Tra accidentally witnessed an incident in which a group of policemen and non-Catholic people brutally assaulted a female Catholic follower from the Song Ngoc parish. She stopped and used her smartphone to record the attack.
One of the attackers noticed her actiom and called on other to detain her. Ngoc ran away, hiding herself in a water closet of a local cafeteria. However, the attackers broke in and arrest her.
Police officers and thugs started beating her, demanding her to take off all clothes to search for her smart phones. They confiscated her three cell phones and asked her to open the devices. When she refused, they beat her again and took her to the police station of the Song Ngoc commune.
In the police station, they continued to beat and interrogate her until other Catholic followers in Phu Yen parish came to demand for her release. Some of parishioners were also beaten by thugs.
The attacks against Tra and another woman are part of increasing suppression against the Catholic community in the central region which is severely affected by the illegal discharge of toxic industrial waste of the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant in the local waters.
——————–
26 International, Domestic Organizations Calls for Immediate, Unconditional Release of Prisoner of Conscience Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh
Defend the Defenders: A group of 26 international and domestic organizations have jointly written an open letter sent to Vietnam’s senior leaders to demand for immediate and unconditional release of prisoner of conscience Protestant pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, who is serving his 11-year imprisonment in Xuan Loc prison located in the southern province of Dong Nai.
In the letter dated May 23 and addressed to President Tran Dai Quang, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan of Vietnam’s highest legislative body National Assembly, the signatories call on Vietnam’s authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh and fully restore his legal rights; carry out prompt, impartial, independent and effective investigations into the allegations of torture and other ill-treatment made by Pastor Chinh and his wife Mrs. Tran Thi Hong and bring any identified perpetrators to justice following fair trials and provide reparations to Pastor Chinh and Mrs. Hong in accordance with Vietnam’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT); respect international human rights laws and standards generally including the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, speech, peaceful assembly and association in particular.
They said in the letter that the community of civil society organizations and human rights advocates in Southeast Asia and around the world continue to monitor closely the situation of Mrs. Hong and Pastor Chinh, and they will continue to do so until he is released and the criminal conviction is expunged through appropriate legal processes.
For details: Open Letter – Vietnam must immediately release prisoner of conscience Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh and end harassment of his family
For persecution against the pastor and his family, see our archives: /category/nguyen-cong-chinh-nguyen-thanh-long/
===== May 30-31 =====
Nghe An Threatens Outspoken Catholic Priest, Demolishing Followers’ Houses
Defend the Defenders: On May 30-31, authorities in Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province deployed a large number of police, militia and thugs to threaten outspoken Catholic priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc and demolish many private residences of Catholic followers in the Van Thai sub-parish, the Song Ngoc parish.
On the evening of May 30, authorities in Quynh Luu sent around 700 thugs with wooden bars and bricks and stones to the around of the Van Thai church when Father Thuc held a masses. They caused great noise and threw stones and bricks to the church and other private houses around.
Some Catholic followers were beaten by thugs while one female follower was injured from a glass broken by thugs.
When the church warned, mobile police came but did nothing to disperse the trouble-causing group. They offered to accompany Father Thuc to the Song Ngoc parish church where he resides, however, he rejected.
On the next day, thugs came to Van Thai and attacked many private houses of the local followers who were forced to leave their house to avoid being assaulted. Thugs broke in their house and destroyed their properties, including motorbikes, electronic devices, and roofs while police watched and did nothing to stop them.
A number of Catholic followers were beaten by thugs.
Earlier, on May 28, police and militia in Quynh Luu district held a drill near the Van Thai Church without informing the local residents. They exercised to take over the church, and fired many times to the church. When Catholic followers protested the drill, they sent militia and thugs to beat many protestors.
The recent actions of authorities in Quynh Luu aim to suppress local Catholic followers in Song Ngoc parish and Father Thuc, who have sought to demand fair compensation for the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant located in the neighbor province of Ha Tinh, and request the Taiwanese firm to stop all activities and leave Vietnam.
Quynh Luu district’s authorities have launched a campaign to distort Father Thuc in a bid to arrest him. In early May, authorities in Nghe An launched a public campaign against Catholic priests Dang Huu Nam and Nguyen Dinh Thuc of the Phu Yen parish. Both have been outspoken about the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwanese Formosa steel plant.
In particular, authorities in Quynh Luu district have requested local mass organizations such as the women’s association, the war veterans’ association, the youth communist delegation and school students to organize meetings and street demonstrations to condemn the two priests, who advocate for lawsuits against the Taiwanese-invested Formosa in relation to the environmental catastrophe it caused.
In mid-May, Nghe An authorities arrested Catholic follower Hoang Duc Binh, vice chairman of the Viet Labor Movement, and issued a national warrant of blogger Bach Hong Quyen, member of the Vietnam Pathway, for their assistance for the Catholic community in the Song Ngoc parish in seeking justice in relations with losses caused by Formosa.
Instead of making the Taiwanese Formosa Plastic Group to be accountable for their massive destruction to the environment, Vietnam’s government is more concerned about trying to control its people and to repress their freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly.
===== June 1 =====
Amnesty International Launches Campaign Calling International Community to Act for Release of HRD Hoang Duc Binh, Drop All Charge against Bach Hong Quyen
Defend the Defenders: On June 1, Amnesty International issued a statement urging international community to write letters to Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Minister of Public Security To Lam and Deputy Foreign Minister cum Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh to call on Vietnam’s authorities to:
Mr. Binh, vice chairman of the Viet Labor Movement, was arrested on May 15 and charged with “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties” under Article 257 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code, and “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” under Article 258. Under each charge he faces a possible sentence of between six months’ and seven years’ imprisonment.
Quyen, who is a member of the Vietnam Path Movement, a peaceful reform group not sanctioned by the authorities, is also being pursued by the authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest on May 12. He is currently in hiding and faces charges of “causing public disorder” for his alleged role in organizing a demonstration on April 3 calling for accountability and transparency in relation to the Formosa environmental disaster. Both his wife and parents have been visited by the authorities seeking his arrest.
As protests and demands for transparency and accountability continue in 2017, Vietnam’s authorities are responding with threats, harassment, intimidation and physical violence against those involved in organizing and submitting complaints. Human rights defenders and activists involved in organizing protests are being increasingly targeted.
On February15, Amnesty International called for the release of Nguyen Van Hoa, a blogger from KyAnh district, Ha Tinh province, who was arrested on January11, 2017. He had been helping fishermen affected by the Formosa ecological disaster.
Phil Roberston, deputy Asia director of the New York-based organization Human Rights Watch said that Vietnamese government should be investigating Formosa instead of investigating the people who are demanding it take action against the company.
“What we have seen is a greater level of oppression coming against those activists who are demanding that Formosa take responsibility,” he said.
“That is unfortunate because what it shows is that the government is more concerned about trying to control its people and to repress their freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful public assembly than it is about making a foreign company that was completely irresponsible and caused massive destruction to the environment … accountable.”
Vietnam: Crackdown on Formosa spill activists continues: Hoàng Đức Bình and Bạch Hồng Quyền
——————–
Family of Imprisoned HRD Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh under Heavy Surveillance as McCain Visits Cam Ranh international port
Defend the Defenders: On June 1, when John McCain and other U.S. Congress members visit Cam Ranh international port, authorities in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa held close surveillance over the family of imprisoned human rights defenders and environmentalist Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who was arrested on October 10, 2016 and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the country’s Penal Code.
Authorities in Nha Trang city deploy a large number of security officers to station near the private residence of Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, mother of blogger Quynh who is popular with penname Me Nam (Mother Mushroom). They even placed a truck near the house’s gate but replaced it with motorbikes when the family protested.
When Ms. Lan went to buy grocery, a group of four policemen followed her.
The police acts aim to prevent the family from eventual meeting with the U.S. legislators.
Last week, when Vietnam and the U.S. conducted their 21st Human Rights Dialogue, authorities in Nha Trang also blocked the family for several consecutive days, placing them de facto under house arrest.
Along with banning local activists and their relatives from going abroad, Vietnam’s authorities have blocked them from meeting with foreign diplomats and officials visiting the Southeast Asian nation.
——————–
Saigon-based Dissident Threatened to Be Extradited to France
Defend the Defenders: Political dissident Pham Minh Hoang, who has double Vietnamese-French citizenship, is under threat of being extradited to France as the Vietnamese government has revoked his Vietnamese citizenship.
Mr. Hoang, a university lecturer in mathematics, said he was informed by the French General Consul about the Vietnamese government’s decision recently.
Mr. Hoang, a former prisoner of conscience, may be not allowed to stay in Vietnam with his family, including his old mother and older brother, who is an invalid veteran of the South Vietnam.
Hoang was sent to France to study mathematics in 1973. When he returned, the communist soldiers took over the South Vietnam and unified the country. He hardly found his job until 2000 he started as a mathematics lecturer in the Saigon Polytechnics University.
In 2010, he was arrested for online writings and charged with “conducting anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to 17 months in prison and additional three years under house arrest.
After being released, Hoang met difficulties in teaching. Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have tried to cause problems for his French classes.
In 2016, police violently dispersed his class in democracy and human rights, confiscating many laptops of his students. He is under close surveillance of HCM City’s security forces.
Professor Hoang said he would stay in Vietnam, even in prison rather than living in other countries.