Former prisoner of conscience Ho Thi Bich Khuong
When she was resting in a waiting hall in the hospital, a policeman in plainclothes asked her to follow him to a police station. The man whom Khuong recognized as the provincial security officer called for support from others when he met strong objection from the activist.
By Vu Quoc Ngu, August 8, 2016
Security officers in Vietnam’s central province of Nghe An have harassed and intimidated former prisoner of conscience Ho Thi Bich Khuong when she went to a local hospital for medical treatment for her and her son, who was severely beaten by what many believed to be local plainclothes one month ago.
Ms. Khuong, who is also a land rights activist, contacted Defend the Defenders by telephone on the morning of August 8 to report her dangerous situation. She said she brought her son, Nguyen Trung Duc to the Orthopedics hospital in Vinh city for medical check-up to prepare for surgery as he has not yet recovered from the attack last month.
Khuong said she also plans to go to another hospital to treat some health problems resulting from hash and unsanitary conditions during her imprisonment a year ago.
When she was resting in a waiting hall in the hospital, a policeman in plainclothes asked her to follow him to a police station. The man whom Khuong recognized as the provincial security officer called for support from others when he met strong objection from the activist.
When Khuong called to a staff of Defend the Defenders to report her situation, the policeman demanded a bodyguard in the hospital to expel her out of the hall. Khuong refused to leave, saying no body has rights to force her to leaves the hospital when she comes for medical treatment.
Plainclothes agents continued to follow her when she was inside the hospital.
Meanwhile, her son still needs further medical treatment for the injuries on his head and arm. On July 13, when he was driving his motorbike in Nam Dan district, two men riding parallel to him on another motorbike cut across him, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. Duc fell to the ground and was knocked unconscious. He woke a short time later covered in blood.
Duc made his way to hospital where he received dozens of stitches to close a deep wound running 15cm along the top of his head and a 10cm wound running along his upper right arm.
Ms. Khuong, a member of the Vietnam Independent Civil Society Organizations Network (VICSON), has been under constant surveillance and harassment of authorities in Nghe An after being released in mid-January this year.
In 2011, she was arrested and charged with anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of the Penal Code. Later, she was sentenced to five years in prison and additional three years under house arrest. She was imprisoned twice before for a total of 30 months.
Vietnam has applied a number of controversial articles such as 79, 88, 245 and 258 of the Penal Code to silence government’s critics, social activists and human rights defenders.
Security forces in Nghe An have harassed, intimidated and persecuted many activists. One of their tactics is using plainclothes agents to assault activists, causing severe injuries. Their victims included human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and his assistants in December last year, and eight members of the pro-democracy Brotherhood of Democracy on July 9.
Meanwhile, local activists reported that on August 6, police in Nghe An detained two activists Thai Van Phap and Tran Thi Hien from Yen Thanh district for hours when they returned from La Nham parish. During the detention, police officers beat the duo, causing many injuries on their heads and bodies.
Height Insoles: Hi, I do believe this is an excellent site. I stumbledupon …
http://fishinglovers.net: Appreciate you sharing, great post.Thanks Again. Keep writi…
Achilles Pain causes: Every weekend i used to pay a quick visit this site, as i w…
August 8, 2016
Vietnamese Former Prisoner of Conscience Harassed While in Hospital for Medical Treatment
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights] • Tags: Ho Thi Bich Khuong, Thai Van Phap, Tran Thi Hien (Yen Thanh)
Former prisoner of conscience Ho Thi Bich Khuong
By Vu Quoc Ngu, August 8, 2016
Security officers in Vietnam’s central province of Nghe An have harassed and intimidated former prisoner of conscience Ho Thi Bich Khuong when she went to a local hospital for medical treatment for her and her son, who was severely beaten by what many believed to be local plainclothes one month ago.
Ms. Khuong, who is also a land rights activist, contacted Defend the Defenders by telephone on the morning of August 8 to report her dangerous situation. She said she brought her son, Nguyen Trung Duc to the Orthopedics hospital in Vinh city for medical check-up to prepare for surgery as he has not yet recovered from the attack last month.
Khuong said she also plans to go to another hospital to treat some health problems resulting from hash and unsanitary conditions during her imprisonment a year ago.
When she was resting in a waiting hall in the hospital, a policeman in plainclothes asked her to follow him to a police station. The man whom Khuong recognized as the provincial security officer called for support from others when he met strong objection from the activist.
When Khuong called to a staff of Defend the Defenders to report her situation, the policeman demanded a bodyguard in the hospital to expel her out of the hall. Khuong refused to leave, saying no body has rights to force her to leaves the hospital when she comes for medical treatment.
Plainclothes agents continued to follow her when she was inside the hospital.
Meanwhile, her son still needs further medical treatment for the injuries on his head and arm. On July 13, when he was driving his motorbike in Nam Dan district, two men riding parallel to him on another motorbike cut across him, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. Duc fell to the ground and was knocked unconscious. He woke a short time later covered in blood.
Duc made his way to hospital where he received dozens of stitches to close a deep wound running 15cm along the top of his head and a 10cm wound running along his upper right arm.
Ms. Khuong, a member of the Vietnam Independent Civil Society Organizations Network (VICSON), has been under constant surveillance and harassment of authorities in Nghe An after being released in mid-January this year.
In 2011, she was arrested and charged with anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of the Penal Code. Later, she was sentenced to five years in prison and additional three years under house arrest. She was imprisoned twice before for a total of 30 months.
Vietnam has applied a number of controversial articles such as 79, 88, 245 and 258 of the Penal Code to silence government’s critics, social activists and human rights defenders.
Security forces in Nghe An have harassed, intimidated and persecuted many activists. One of their tactics is using plainclothes agents to assault activists, causing severe injuries. Their victims included human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and his assistants in December last year, and eight members of the pro-democracy Brotherhood of Democracy on July 9.
Meanwhile, local activists reported that on August 6, police in Nghe An detained two activists Thai Van Phap and Tran Thi Hien from Yen Thanh district for hours when they returned from La Nham parish. During the detention, police officers beat the duo, causing many injuries on their heads and bodies.