Mar 31-Apr 6, 2014 Defenders’ Weekly: Former PoC Dinh Dang Dinh passed away

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This week, our weekly bulletin on Human Rights continues to be updated: the health  status of activist Bui Thi Minh Hang got so bad; the result of the trial on five policemen with murder charge  caused widely public outrage; more than 2,000 workers in Binh Duong were on strike against harsh working conditions  and low wage; a former prisoner of conscience – Mr. Dinh Dang Dinh – died only one month after receiving the “Precidential amnesty”.

**********Mar 31, 2014 ********** ***

Former Vietnamese prisoners of conscience condemned the arbitrary arrests of land petitioners

After policemen had unreasonably captured petitioners in Duong Noi (Hanoi) and Thuan Nam (Ninh Thuan), on March 31st, FVPOC issued a statement condemning the arrests. The Ninh Thuan petitioners were arrested due to protesting against the Titanium mining project and Duong Noi ones for reclaiming their land: “The project harming land and the environment both in Thuan Nam and at Duong Noi must be immediately suspended! These innocent victims have to be released unconditionally and without delay! Government officials and police forces behaving brutally and illegally must be strictly punished!”

Refer to:

FVPOC protests the illegal detention of innocent residents in Thuan Nam -Ninh Thuan province and Duong Noi in capital city of Hanoi

==============

Ms. Hang Bui was finally able to meet her lawyer and stopped her 50-day hunger strike

In the morning of 31st of March, 2014, lawyer Tran Thu Nam managed to meet Ms. Bui Hang and then apprised of her bad health condition.  Currently, she is so weak that she cannot move herself without help, but she remains mentally strong.

On February 11, 2014, while Ms. Hang and all her twenty-one friends were paying a visit to the family of Mr. Nguyen Bac Truyen in Lap Vo District (Dong Thap Province), they were prevented, beaten and arrested by police and security forces. Next, the authorities prosecuted Mr. Bui Thi Minh Hang, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh and Mr. Nguyen Van Minh City on charge of allegedly “resisting persons in the performance of their official duties and causing public disorder “. But they released the rest of the 21- person group.

Also according to lawyer Tran Thu Nam, Ms. Bui Hang is likely to be sentenced to over three years in prison.

Refer to:

Bà Bùi Hằng được gặp luật sư

Bà Bùi Thị Minh Hằng rất yếu sau gần 50 ngày tuyệt thực

Bui Thi Minh Hang

**************Apr 4, 2014 *************** *

Vietnam  Court heard the trial on 29 Hmong people  “conducting banditry activities”

From April 2nd to 8th, 2014, the Dien Bien provincial court was trialing twenty-nine Hmong people being accused of “conducting banditry activities” under Article 83 of the Vietnam penal code.

According to the indictment, these people were arrested for using weapons to attack officials and in 2012 robbing weapons of the authorities to plan to establish a Hmong kingdom.

Read further:

Việt Nam xét xử 29 người H’Mông vì «hoạt động phỉ»

Phiên tòa xét xử 29 người dân tộc H’mong

Petitioners from Dong Nai Province and many southwestern provinces  protested in Saigon on April 2nd 2014

In the morning of the 2nd of April, petitioners from Dong Nai and many southwestern provinces continued to hold banners to reclaim their evicted land. At the same time, they also demonstrated support for the growing freedom, democracy and human rights movement in Vietnam.

Mainly women joined the rally, including approximately 80-year-old women, but they were subjected to vicious suppression, beating and forcing to return to their own local places.

Video: Nông dân oan Đồng Nai cùng dân oan miền Tây biểu tình tại Sài Gòn ngày 02/04/2014

Phỏng vấn nông dân Đồng Nai bị công an hành hung và phóng sự đài truyền hình Al Jazeera về nông dân Việt Nam bị nhà nước Việt Nam bị tước đoạt đất đai

**************Apr 3, 2014 ************* **

Results of First Instance hearing on police using corporal punishment caused death

In the afternoon of the 3rd of April, Tuy Hoa Municipal People’s Court (Phu Yen Province) released the verdicts of trial on five policemen torturing Mr. Ngo Thanh Kieu to death. There were only one defendant sentenced to five years in prison and three others just placed on probation.  All of them were accused of conducting corporal punishment of a suspect.

After the sentences, people were very indignant at them, while the family members of the victim were crying bitterly and angrily.

Vụ công an dùng nhục hình:Kêu khóc sau khi tòa tuyên án

Ý kiến luật sư về phiên tòa công an dùng nhục hình gây tử vong

Vụ Ngô Thanh Kiều, thách thức của tòa án Tuy Hòa

Petitioners of Con Dau Parish continued to ask for help at the gate of the Government Office.

On March 26th, 2014, UN Human rights experts issued a press release calling on the Vietnam Government to urgently solve the cases of land evictions in Con Dau, Da Nang City. Despite the objection of residents, many coercive decisions have been made ​​by the authorities since 2007.

But in the morning of the third of April, 2014, the authorities of Danang city continued to enforce the land evictions upon more households in Con Dau Parish. Thus, to April 3rd, Danang’s police forces have consecutively imposed evictions on more thirteen households in the parish. Many parishioners even went to Hanoi city to ask Prime Minister and the high ranking agencies of the Central Government for help with requiring Danang’s Authorities to stop these forced evictions. But so far, they have not received any reply yet from the government.

Dân oan giáo xứ Cồn dầu tiếp tục kêu cứu tại cổng VP chính phủ

Các chuyên gia nhân quyền LHQ lên tiếng về vụ Cồn Dầu

Binh Duong : 2,000 workers were on strike

On April 3rd 2014, approximately 2,000 workers of a Japanese factory – Saigon Electric Wonderful – located in Vietnam – Singapore Industrial Zone, Binh Duong Province. So far, the strike has lasted for three days against increasing working time from four days to six days per week with just every extra payment of 200,000 VND (10 USD).

It is known that while the security guards of company were firing pepper spray at workers, policemen at the scene just turned a blind eye.

Read more:

Bình Dương: 2000 công nhân đình công

Bình Dương: 2000 công nhân đình công, bảo vệ xịt hơi cay, công an đánh công nhân

A prominent dissident Mr. Dinh Dang Dinh passed away

Teacher and Dissident Mr. Dinh Dang Dinh died from cancer at 21.30 pm on April 3rd, 2014 in Dak Nong Province.

In 2011, he was arrested for protesting against the bauxite mining project affecting the environment and the health of residents in Central Highland. At the end of 2013, his health became worse in prison due to stomach cancer without medical treatment. In March this year, he was offered a “special amnesty”, but at that time his disease turned out incurable.

The funeral was organized at Saigon Redemptorist Monastery. After that, his coffin was moved to Binh Hung Hoa cremation center on April 7th, 2014.

Nhà bất đồng chính kiến Đinh Đăng Định qua đời

HỘI CTNLT: Vĩnh biệt cựu tù nhân lương tâm Đinh Đăng Định

‘Chính quyền nợ cha tôi một lời xin lỗi’

“Một nhân cách lớn vừa ly trần”

Cancer-Stricken Vietnamese Former Political Prisoner Dies

Dinh Dang Dinh

*************Apr 4, 2014 *************** *

More one activist  is harassed when he has returned to Vietnam from UPR conference

Mr. Dang Van Ngoan – an activist having taken part in the Human Rights campaign for Vietnam at the Universal Periodic Review has repeatedly harassed by the authorities after return to Vietnam on March 31st, 2014.

On April 4th, in the morning, a lot of police came to his home to summon him for questioning but he refused to go because of their annoying and arbitrary “invitation”.

He strongly affirmed to have the right to join the UPR campaign as a Vietnamese citizen and a Hoa Hao Buddhists in order to expose the human rights situation in Vietnam and struggle for religious freedom.

Thêm một nhà vận động UPR bị sách nhiễu khi trở về

**************Apr 5, 2014  ************* **

A petition was made to claim the right of religious freedom in prison

On April 5th 2014, Prisoners of conscience such as Mr. Chu Manh Son, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Anh, Mr. Ho Van Oanh and Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh belonging to Catholic diocese of Vinh urged people to sign a petition  to call for the right to exercise religious freedom in prison. These prisoners were convicted of “conducting propaganda for overthrowing the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”.

In cruel circumstances of prisons, they earnestly called on priests, monks, other religious dignitaries and all communities to demand the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to respect the religious freedom of prisoners.

Bản Kiến Nghị Đòi Được Hưởng Quyền Tự Do tôn Giáo Trong Nhà tù

Chu Mạnh Sơn

Summarized by Nguyen Thao Chi

Translation by [rollinglinks]Huynh Thuc Vy[/rollinglinks]