CSO: Civil Society's Organizations
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21 Vietnam CSOs: Three accused
Minh Hang, Van Minh and Thuy Quynh must be released immediately and
unconditionally
VRNs (Aug
22th,
2014) -
Saigon - Joint statement of Vietnam CSOs on the coming trial of Bui Minh Hang,
Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh and Nguyen Van Minh
Pursuant to Document No.
69/2014 / HSST-QD, signed by the judge Bui Phuoc Loc on July 28, 2014, about
"bringing into court under the charge of “disturbing public order "
Paragraph 2, Article 245 of the Penal Code, the trial of Bui Minh Hang, Nguyen
Thi Thuy Quynh and Nguyen Van Minh is scheduled to open on Aug 26, 2014 at 7:30
AM in the People's court of Dong Thap province. All 3 people have been detained
since Feb 11, 2014 in Lap Vo District police station (Dong Thap province), then
they were transferred to Dong Thap provincial detention center (An Binh
commune, Cao Lanh city).
I/. We, the civil society
organizations have the same view that:
1. The incident took place
on a communal rural road of the bridge Nong Trai, My An Hung
Commune, Lap Vo district,
Dong Thap province on Feb 11, 2014 when 21 friends of Nguyen Bac Truyen and his
wife were on the way to visit them. Truyen and his wife had been attacked some days
earlier. All 21 people were suddenly stopped, been asked ID papers, provoked
and then attacked by hundred policemen in uniform and plainclothes and thugs.
The attackers used sticks, clubs to hit them badly regardless woman or man
while many others videoed.
After many people were
beaten, injury and unconscious, these police officers (including Captain Huynh
Van Thuan, deputy head of the security team, and Lieutenant Colonel Le Hoang
Dung, deputy chief of the investigative office of Lap Vo district, who was
heavy-handed with Minh Hang and later it was him to sign an order of
prosecution) then put on their police shirts and seized all communication
gadgets and banners of 21 people. They were detained for 12 hours without food
in the dark, dirty room. 18 people got released later.
2. One of the three
defendants, Bui Minh Hang is a prominent pro-democracy activist, who
is always present in
anti-china protests and the unfair trials of patriotic dissidents. She also
threw herself into the struggle of land petitioners and disseminated the booklets
of Universal Declaration of Human Rights. She used to be detained for five
months at Thanh Ha education camp.
Ms.Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh
joined anti-China protests in Saigon since 2010 and then engaged in human
rights and democracy activities. Mr.Nguyen Van Minh is a fervent believer of the
independent Hoa Hao Buddhists, he is a son-in-law and brother-in-law two
prisoners of conscience Bui Van Trung and Bui Van Tham. When being arrested,
all three took a hunger strike to protest.
Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh
refused to obey the investigators to accuse the ringleader Hang in return for
getting release immediately. Bui Minh Hang had taken hunger strike four times,
and her daughter first time was allowed to meet her in prison on Aug 18,2014.
3. On Feb 27, 2014 the TV
program "For Homeland Security" of Dong Thap did report
about the arrest of Nguyen
Bac Truyen and 21 people said. Everything was carefully recorded from the
moment the incident occurred. For the purpose of giving fake evidence to
describe those people who were arrested due to violating the law and Dong Thap
police complied with the rule of law!?!
Video analysis reports, we
see all of the allegations made against three people as "obstructing traffic,"
"against person on duty", and "disturbing public order "are
unfounded. Although the video was staged and prepared in advance, the police
could not
provide any evidence for the
allegations stated. On the contrary, it is evidence to accuse of bully
behavior, slander to citizens, cunning manner of police in Dong Thap.
4. On Mar 10, 2014 to find
false evidence to hide the acts of "gratuitous violence" and
"unlawful
detention," Lap Vo district police have summoned five persons among 21, To
Van Manh, Phan Duc Phuoc, Nguyen Vu Tam, Ms. Bui Thi Diem Thuy and Ms. Do Thi
Thuy Trang. All 5 people then publicly denounced (through RFA on Mar 11) that
investigators had primed them about what to say and forced to testify,
arbitrarily writing down on the minutes what witnesses did not talk about, and
not writing what they did. During the interrogation, police always focused on
the role of "ringleader” Bui Minh Hang in order to easily to put her in
the law trap. Apparently these investigators want to prove the words of Captain
Huynh Van Thuan: "That group beat police first, attacked police first.
Police could not fight back so people on the roadside jumped out to beat for police"!?!
5. Yet, Lap Vo district
police also sent a communiqué to the attorney Tran Thu Nam (Viet
Tin law office - Ha Noi)
that Bui Minh Hang refused to hire him as a lawyer. After lawyer Nam submitted
the indisputable evidence that Hang had signed the contract with his office
(Hang’s children also wanted lawyer Nam to protect their mother’s rights and
interests), Lap Vo district police had to allow lawyer Tran Thu Nam to be her
third lawyer on Mar 12, 2014.
6. Furthermore, on the
evening of Mar 22, 2014, after the Mass to pray for three defendants
at the Redemptorist church
of Thai Ha, Hanoi, Hang’s daughter Quynh Anh was abducted by police, some
bloggers’ houses were besieged to examine. Blogger Truong Van Dung was intercepted
and severely beaten to hospitalize. The next morning, Mar 13, a small rally
demanding release of three victims in Hanoi was brutally suppressed. Ms. Tran
Thi Nga had been sexually assaulted and brutally beaten at the police station
of Quang Trung ward, Dong Da district, Hanoi.
On July 28, 2014, the UN
rapporteur on freedom of religion, Heiner Bielefeldt, could not meet victims
and witnesses, including Quang Minh pagoda of Vo Van Thanh Liem, worship place
of Bui van Trung and Nguyen Bac Truyen’s house. Recently, An Giang province
police have sent invitation letters to Hoa Hao Buddhists in order to ban them
to participate the coming trial of the trio.
7. Finally, in the
investigative conclusion issued by Colonel Le Van Be Sau - the head of
the investigative department
of Dong Thap province on July 2, 2014 there are slanders as said above, we can
find the "incriminating evidence" against the three accused as
cursing "police are robbers!", "police block road to rob!",
"Down with Communists," etc.; or with slogans on placards confiscated:"
Down with police, thugs who illegally detained people,"" Ask
correcting the thug-like police to set an example for the people","
the people can not pay taxes to feed thug-like state " etc.
In comparing the incidents
that happened and the status quo of the regime, those words are perfectly correct,
never being a crime in the democratic, civilized countries.
The three defendants
declined to sign the indictment and denied the accusation of the investigative conclusion.
Five witnesses Vo Van Buu, Vo Van Bao, Bui Thi Diem Thuy,
3/3
Phan Duc Phuoc and Do Thi
Thuy Trang are ready to testify to denounce Lap Vo police ambushed and attacked
the innocent people.
II/. From the observations
above, we, the CSOs co-signed below declare:
1. Three accused Bui Thi
Minh Hang, Nguyen Van Minh and Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh
must be released immediately
and unconditionally because they are completely innocent. It is policemen, who
ambushed, beat people, caused the roadside people gathered crowded, is a "disturbing
public order" maker.
2. The dynamic of the
treacherous scheming rulers aims at criminalizing the courageous
human rights activists. This
proved that it is not an ordinary criminal case but created by political motives.
3. The unjustified beating
and detention and then the illegal proceedings act not only as a
serious human rights abuses,
but also labeled the regime falsity. It is the actual human rights situation in
Vietnam, not as deceitful allegations of any official of the ruling Communists
when they answered the question and the public criticism worldwide.
4. Vietnam compatriots and
democracy movement at home and abroad lay heads together
and perseveringly struggle (with
the help of democratic countries and international human rights bodies ) for
the legal institutions in accordance with the standards of civilized humanity,
a legislative system is no longer a tool in the hands of the ruling Communist
dictatorship.
Vietnam, Aug 21, 2014
The CSOs co-signed:
Association to Protect
Freedom of Religion: Catholic Priest Le Ngoc Thanh.
Bach Dang Giang Foundation:
Pham Ba Hai (MBE).
Brotherhood for Democracy:
Lawyer Nguyen Van Dai.
Cao Dai Church: Mr. Hua Phi,
Mrs. Bach Phung
Civil Society Forum : Nguyen
Quang A (Ph.D.)
Council of Religion
Alliance: Catholic Priest Dinh Huu Thoai
Delegation of Vietnamese
United Buddhists Church: Ven. Thich Khong Tanh.
Evangelical Protestant:
Reverend Nguyen Hoang Hoa, Nguyen Manh Hung, Nguyen Trung Ton
Former Vietnamese Prisoners
of Conscience: Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, Catholic Priest Phan Van Loi.
Friendship Association of
Political and Religious Prisoners: Nguyen Bac Truyen, LLB.
Gourd and Squash Mutual
Association: Mr. Nguyen Le Hung
Hoa Hao Buddhists, Purity:
Mr. Le Quang Liem.
Independent Journalists
Association of Vietnam: Pham Chi Dung (Ph.D.)
Network of Vietnamese
Bloggers: Ms. Nguyen Hoang Vi
Nguyen Kim Dien Group:
Catholic Priest Nguyen Huu Giai
Non-violent Movement for
Democracy: Dr. Nguyen Dan Que.
Oppressed Petitioners
Solidarity Movement: Ms. Tran Ngoc Anh
Peasants Petitioners
Association: Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ngu.
Viet Labors: Ms. Do Thi Minh
Hanh
Vietnam Path: Mr. Hoang Van
Dung
Vietnamese Women for Human
Rights: Ms.Huynh Thuc Vy, Mrs. Tran Thi Hai
Translation by Trang Thien Long.