Son of Detained Land Petitioner from Ninh Binh Seeks Justice for His Mother

Mrs. Hai with special clothes- banner demanding land right

Mrs. Hai with special clothes- banner demanding land right in Hanoi street

Mr. Tuyen said he has sent letters to the parliament, the Supreme Procuracy, the Minstry of Public Security as well as the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Vietnam Women Association to demand for unconditional release of his mother.

By Vu Quoc Ngu  | July 4, 2015

Mr. Duong Van Tuyen, a son of arrested land petitioner Vu Thi Hai, has sent his letter to a number of Vietnam’s state agencies to protest the illegal detention of his mother by the police force in the capital city of Hanoi a month ago.

Mrs. Hai from the northern province of Ninh Binh was detained by security forces in Hanoi on June 9 when she and other land petitioners strived to approach the building of Vietnam’s legislative body National Assembly in the city’s center to complain their cases with lawmakers during their first one-month session for the 2015 starting on May 20.

Hanoi police arrested her and some other and took them to Ha Dong district police station, about 15 km away from the city’s center. Later, they released other but kept Mrs. Hai and charged her with allegation of causing public disorders.

If being convicted, Mrs. Hai may face being imprisoned up to seven years.

Mr. Tuyen said he has sent letters to the parliament, the Supreme Procuracy, the Minstry of Public Security as well as the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Vietnam Women Association to demand for unconditional release of his mother.

Mr. Tuyen said his father died in a working accident in 2013. Local authorities have cheated his family, transforming the ownership of about five hectares of his family’s land to local communal cadres.

His mother has protested the grabbing, going to government agencies in different levels from the home district to the highest level in Hanoi to fill complaints against the illegal land seizure. However, her voice has been ignored, even police consider her as one of trouble makers and subjects for their harassment.

Mrs. Hai has joined hundreds of other land petitioners nationwide to rally in Hanoi’s streets and gather in fronts of government’s buildings to demand for their land return or market price compensation for their illegally-revoked land. They live in streets, sleep in parks and often receive financial supports from people.

Hanoi police have regularly attack them, beating them and destroying their temporary tents or hiring thugs to throw dirty substances to them in a bid to expel them to their home provinces.
Numerous Vietnamese land petitioners have been arrested and charged with allegation of conducting public disturbance under Article 245 of the Criminal Code.

Land seizure is one of systematic issue in the communist Vietnam where all land belongs to the state and residents have only right to use it.

According to the current law, the government can take land of people for defense purpose and socio-economic development. In many localities, local authorities have seized land from residents for urban and industrial development without paying adequate compensations.

Illegal land seizure in many Vietnamese provinces and cities have triggered strong protest from the land owners. In 2013, aquatic farmer Doan Van Vuon used hand-made explosive to attack policemen and soldiers who came to revoke his family from his renting land. Two soldiers were injured while Vuon was sentenced to seven years in jail.

Many other farmers have been jailed for peaceful protest against illegal land seizure, according to local media./.