Mar 3 – Mar 9 Defenders’ Weekly: Discovered a form of torture by police using chilli to rub on the lower part of the abdomen

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The highlights of this week not only domestically but internationally, is the government convicted blogger Duy Nhat Truong under Article 258 of “abusing democratic freedoms.” Prisoner Do Van Hoa is still in solitary confinement, while Bui Thi Minh Hang takes hunger strike in prison to protest arbitrary arrest. In Tien Giang province, teacher Huynh Thi Xuan Mai was subject to harassment by the school and the local authorities because of her using facebook to denounce wrong doings of the school. In Saigon, Ben Thanh market, a group of members of Vietnamese Women for Human Rights gathered in response to the holiday of Mar 8. The demonstration was quickly dispersed.

Especially this week, Huynh The Anh was tortured by four policemen of Duc Hoa district, Long An province by rubbing chilli on his lower part of the abdomen.

Defenders ‘ Weekly | Mar 3 – Mar 9, 2014 summarized as follows :

*********On Mar 4, 2014*********

Journalist Truong Duy Nhat sentenced 2 years in jail

Da Nang city People’s Court sentenced two years’ imprisonment for Truong Duy Nhat with the charge of Article 258 – abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the rights and interests of organizations, citizens.
See more:

/truong-duy-nhat/

Prisoners of conscience Do Van Hoa

Do Van Hoa is one of three victims under the charge of Article 88 of the penal code in the trial court dated July 16, 2012 in Bac Giang province.

Currently, he is in custody, in Ba Sao prison, in very bad condition. Hoa requests his wife, Mrs. Ha to call helping his situation. He currently keeps continuing his faith in justice and pleaded not guilty. In June 2013 he and other prisoners of conscience, Vi Duc Hoi, protest jailers beating a new prisoner. After the incident he and Vi Duc Hoi were put in solitary confinement in a cramped room, damp darkness, a day one meal, the family’s food supplies sent were cut down to 3kg only, drinking water pumped up from the pond, canals surround the prison.

See more:

/do-van-hoa/

********On Mar 6, 2014*********

Ms. Bui Hang takes hunger strike in prison

Bui Thi Minh Hang, a prominent demonstrator, takes hunger strike at detention center of the police in Dong Thap province to protest her arrest, her family said.
“I have met a jailer over there and asked about the health of my mother and then they said that my mother was under hunger strike since being detained in Lap Vo district. Dang Thi Quynh Anh, Bui Hang’s daughter said: “In the last time to visit, I saw my mother just drinking water. She only drank herbal tea and eat nothing”.
Quynh Anh also said that as of the date Mar 6, Bui Hang was detained for a total of 24 days.

See more:

/bui-thi-minh-hang/

Tortured by electric and chilli

Some policemen of police unit 113 used clubs, sticks, chains, whips, beating a 24-year-old youth while he was with friends drinking water in a small coffee shop. After electrical torture, the four police officers have used chilli rubbing in the eye and into his lower part of the abdomen so that he almost went crazy, screaming and fainted many times.

On Feb 7, after a conflict with a truck driver due to the traffic collision, Huynh The Anh and his friends gathered at cafe shop. He was then arrested by Duc Hoa district and was taken to the police station and interrogated and brutally tortured. The government claims that there is no torture, but the victim’s family and the victim – Huynh Anh confirmed that the incident occurred as the press has mentioned.

See more:

VOA: Tra tấn bằng điện và ớt

Bốn công an dùng nhục hình, xát ớt bột vào hạ bộ một thanh niên

Một người dân tố cáo bị 4 công an tra tấn

Công an kết luận không có tra tấn

*********On Mar 8, 2014*********

Tien Giang police harassed teacher

On the morning of March 6, 2014, An Thoi Dong Commune police approached teacher Huynh Thi Xuan Mai’s house to request her to go to the police station.
According to her, the reason she was harassed is because she denounced corruption in the school where she is teaching.

See more:

/huynh-thi-xuan-mai/

*********On Mar 9, 2014*********

ANTI- CHINA DEMONSTRATION on INTERNATIONAL WOMEN ‘S DAY

At 8 am on Mar 8, a group of women of land petitioners marched from the park area of the Ben Thanh market to Dinh Doc Lap aimed at calling on Hanoi perform more independent policy in relations with Beijing.

Immediately, the marchers were divided by police in plain clothes and uniformed. More than 100 police were mobilized; they made several rounds and were supported by the many roadblocks and buses to raid, isolate protesters. The banners and slogans are seized and torn or hijacked. Protesters were captive and forced back on the buses and then quickly taken away from the rally site. After several hours, the petitioners were dispersed, the protest was violently extinguished.

Summarized by Nguyen Thao Chi

Translation by [rollinglinks]Trang Thien Long[/rollinglinks].