Security Forces in Ha Nam Province Enhance Suppression against Local Activists

Ms. Nga and her two sons Tai and Phu near her rent house in Phu Ly

Ms. Nga and her two sons Tai and Phu near her rent house in Phu Ly

Ms. Nga and Mr. Huong have called on human rights bodies and public to pay attentions to their cases to take actions to demand Vietnam’s authorities to stop persecution against them.

By Vu Quoc Ngu, September 29, 2015

Security forces in Vietnam’s northern province of Ha Nam have conducted numerous operations to suppress local activists, turning their lives into nightmare, the victims have complained.

In recent days, the private house of Mr. Truong Minh Huong in Ba Sao commune, Kim Bang district has been surrounded by numerous strangers whom he claims are plainclothes agents. The strangers have been insulting Mr. Huong and his family members, and sometime throw stones and rotten eggs at his house.

They broke several windows of Mr. Huong’s house and a camera, the victim said on his Facebook page.

The thugs have threatened to kill Huong, and made noises all day and night around his house. Mr. Huong informed local police about the harassment, but they took no actions.

Mr. Huong, 66, is a land petitioner. Since 2007, he has sent numerous petitions to many state agencies to complain about illegal seizure of thousands of square of meters of land by local authorities. He has also participated in anti-China protests as well as pro-democracy gatherings in Hanoi. He has also assisted other land petitioners in other localities.

Mr. Huong has been detained several times by police in Kim Bang district who tortured him during the detentions. In addition, he was assaulted on December 10 last year by two thugs allegedly hired by local authorities who want to silence him.

Around the same time, police in Phu Ly city have also sent a number of plainclothes agents to harass Tran Thi Nga, a local labor and land rights activist. The agents are stationed around the rent house where Ms. Nga lives with her two children. They have blocked her, not allowing her to go out.

In late July, police in Thanh Liem district kidnapped Mrs. Ha Thi Duc, 82, when she was on her way to attend the trial of her son Nguyen Van Thien, who was arrested after he accused local officials of corruption and wrongdoings in the evictions of local residents from their land. Thien was sentenced to four years in jail while his mother was kept by local authorities until she died on September 26.

Local authorities organized the funeral of Mrs. Duc without the agreement of her family. They also did not allow her children, nephews and nieces to attend the funeral.

Authorities in Ha Nam province, which is about 60 kilometers from Hanoi, refused to launch an investigation into Mrs. Duc’s kidnapping despite demands by her relatives.

Ms. Nga and Mr. Huong have called on human rights bodies and the public to pay attention to their cases and to take actions to demand Vietnam’s authorities to stop persecuting them.