Activist Truong Minh Tam (third from left) surrounded by other activists several hours after being released
During the six consecutive days, Mr. Tam, a former prisoner of conscience, was interrogated, beaten, and badly treated by security officers from the Ministry of Public Security and the Police Department of Ha Tinh.
By Vu Quoc Ngu, May 05, 2016
Mr. Truong Minh Tam, a member of the pro-democracy group Vietnam Path Movement, has said that he was tortured and treated like an animal by Vietnamese security forces during a six-day detention from April 29 to May 04.
Mr. Tam, 46, was arrested by security forces in the central province of Ha Tinh on Friday last week when he tried to cover news in Ky Anh district where is located the Taiwan-invested Formosa steel plant which is allegedly discharging improperly-treated waste into Vietnam’s sea and was blamed for causing massive deaths of aquatic species in the central coastal areas.
During the six consecutive days, Mr. Tam, a former prisoner of conscience, was interrogated, beaten, and badly treated by security officers from the Ministry of Public Security and the Police Department of Ha Tinh.
Tam said police officers forced him to take off all clothes and then beat him in a closed room of a hotel managed by Ha Tinh province’s police. They cursed him with dirty words during interrogation, the victim said.
On Wednesday, security officers from the Ministry of Public Security robbed him before handing him over to the police from his home province of Ha Nam. Tam said they took away his laptop and cell phones without issuing receipts.
Mr. Tam said the police did not show him any warranty so he considered himself being kidnapped by police. He also conducted hunger strike to protest his illegal detention during the six days.
On May 1, three days after his detention, the VTV1 channel of the state-run Vietnam Television broadcast news saying Vietnam’s security forces arrested Truong Minh Tam and Chu Manh Son who were accused of triggering mass protest of local activists, fishermen and traders in many localities across the nation. The two activists were also alleged to have connection with “reactionary groups.”
Mr. Son, who works for local newswire GNsP, was detained while filming protestors against Formosa. He was released three days ago.
The two former prisoners of conscience went to the central coastal areas to investigate the real situation in the region affected by the deaths of hundreds of tons of aquatic species which started from April 6. The state media has not covered news on the catastrophe recently, possibly to avoid making public anger to the illegal discharge of very toxic chemicals by the Taiwanese Formosa.
Mr. Tam is a member of Vietnam Pathway Movement which works for enhancing multi-democracy and human rights in the country. In October 2014, he completed his one-year imprisonment for fabricated allegation of conducting financial fraud.
He was arrested on Oct 7, 2013 and was charged of conducting financial fraud but in fact, the trial was the revenge for his political activities as he actively participated in demonstration in 2011-2013 to protest China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea). Like other political cases, his trial and the appeal was with maximum security while his family and friends were not allowed to be in the courtroom
After completing one year in prison where he and other political prisoners were treated like animal, Tam was attacked and robbed by plainclothes agents two times.
Meanwhile, Mr. Son was arrested on August 2, 2011 and charged of conducting anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years under house arrest. During the imprisonment, Son said he was treated inhumanely by prison’s authorities.
After being released in early 2014, Son has been harassed by authorities in his home province of Nghe An. He was severely attacked by plainclothes several times.
The Vietnamese government accuses Son of being member of the U.S.-based Viet Tan (Vietnam Reform Party), a pro-democracy organization but listed as terrorist group by the Vietnamese communists.
After their detentions, many civil society organizations and human rights activists have condemned the government’s move and demanded for their immediate and unconditional release. Shawn Crispin, senior representative of the Paris-based Committee to Protect Journalists in Southeast Asia said “We call on authorities to immediately release journalist Truong Minh Tam, and to stop harassing independent reporters who cover news of national interest.”
“It is disheartening to see that the government of newly-appointed Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has already adopted the same shoot-the-messenger approach to the media as previous Communist Party-led regimes,” Mr. Crispin added.
Vietnam’s government has intensified political crackdown against local political dissidents, social activists and human rights defenders prior to the general election for the parliament scheduled on May 22.
In the last eight days of March, Vietnam imprisoned eight political dissidents, including prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Ba Sam) and writer Nguyen Ngoc Gia. The government has also detained prominent human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Ms. Le Thu Ha since December 16 last year without bringing them to court.
On May 1, security forces in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang barbarically assaulted many protestors and detained dozens of others during peaceful demonstrations against Formosa’s discharge of toxic chemicals. Thousands of activists, fishing farmers and traders have participated in protests in many localities in recent days, including in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, Ha Tinh, Hue, Quang Binh and Quang Tri.
In the first half of April, the rubber stamp parliament in the 13th tenure elected the new leadership for the country in the next five years. A number of police generals were elected to the country’s leadership, including President Tran Dai Quang, Vice Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh and Chief of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyen Hoa Binh. Many police officers hold key positions in the ruling communist party, too.
In Vietnam where the ruling communists vow to keep the country under a one-party regime, police torture and degrading treatment remain systemic although the country ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2014.
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May 5, 2016
Vietnam Activist Says Being Tortured, Treated Like Animal during Six-day Detention by Security Forces
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights], Chu Manh Son, Truong Minh Tam
Activist Truong Minh Tam (third from left) surrounded by other activists several hours after being released
By Vu Quoc Ngu, May 05, 2016
Mr. Truong Minh Tam, a member of the pro-democracy group Vietnam Path Movement, has said that he was tortured and treated like an animal by Vietnamese security forces during a six-day detention from April 29 to May 04.
Mr. Tam, 46, was arrested by security forces in the central province of Ha Tinh on Friday last week when he tried to cover news in Ky Anh district where is located the Taiwan-invested Formosa steel plant which is allegedly discharging improperly-treated waste into Vietnam’s sea and was blamed for causing massive deaths of aquatic species in the central coastal areas.
During the six consecutive days, Mr. Tam, a former prisoner of conscience, was interrogated, beaten, and badly treated by security officers from the Ministry of Public Security and the Police Department of Ha Tinh.
Tam said police officers forced him to take off all clothes and then beat him in a closed room of a hotel managed by Ha Tinh province’s police. They cursed him with dirty words during interrogation, the victim said.
On Wednesday, security officers from the Ministry of Public Security robbed him before handing him over to the police from his home province of Ha Nam. Tam said they took away his laptop and cell phones without issuing receipts.
Mr. Tam said the police did not show him any warranty so he considered himself being kidnapped by police. He also conducted hunger strike to protest his illegal detention during the six days.
On May 1, three days after his detention, the VTV1 channel of the state-run Vietnam Television broadcast news saying Vietnam’s security forces arrested Truong Minh Tam and Chu Manh Son who were accused of triggering mass protest of local activists, fishermen and traders in many localities across the nation. The two activists were also alleged to have connection with “reactionary groups.”
Mr. Son, who works for local newswire GNsP, was detained while filming protestors against Formosa. He was released three days ago.
The two former prisoners of conscience went to the central coastal areas to investigate the real situation in the region affected by the deaths of hundreds of tons of aquatic species which started from April 6. The state media has not covered news on the catastrophe recently, possibly to avoid making public anger to the illegal discharge of very toxic chemicals by the Taiwanese Formosa.
Mr. Tam is a member of Vietnam Pathway Movement which works for enhancing multi-democracy and human rights in the country. In October 2014, he completed his one-year imprisonment for fabricated allegation of conducting financial fraud.
He was arrested on Oct 7, 2013 and was charged of conducting financial fraud but in fact, the trial was the revenge for his political activities as he actively participated in demonstration in 2011-2013 to protest China’s violations of Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea (South China Sea). Like other political cases, his trial and the appeal was with maximum security while his family and friends were not allowed to be in the courtroom
After completing one year in prison where he and other political prisoners were treated like animal, Tam was attacked and robbed by plainclothes agents two times.
Meanwhile, Mr. Son was arrested on August 2, 2011 and charged of conducting anti-state propaganda under Article 88 of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and three years under house arrest. During the imprisonment, Son said he was treated inhumanely by prison’s authorities.
After being released in early 2014, Son has been harassed by authorities in his home province of Nghe An. He was severely attacked by plainclothes several times.
The Vietnamese government accuses Son of being member of the U.S.-based Viet Tan (Vietnam Reform Party), a pro-democracy organization but listed as terrorist group by the Vietnamese communists.
After their detentions, many civil society organizations and human rights activists have condemned the government’s move and demanded for their immediate and unconditional release. Shawn Crispin, senior representative of the Paris-based Committee to Protect Journalists in Southeast Asia said “We call on authorities to immediately release journalist Truong Minh Tam, and to stop harassing independent reporters who cover news of national interest.”
“It is disheartening to see that the government of newly-appointed Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has already adopted the same shoot-the-messenger approach to the media as previous Communist Party-led regimes,” Mr. Crispin added.
Vietnam’s government has intensified political crackdown against local political dissidents, social activists and human rights defenders prior to the general election for the parliament scheduled on May 22.
In the last eight days of March, Vietnam imprisoned eight political dissidents, including prominent blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh (aka Ba Sam) and writer Nguyen Ngoc Gia. The government has also detained prominent human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and his assistant Ms. Le Thu Ha since December 16 last year without bringing them to court.
On May 1, security forces in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang barbarically assaulted many protestors and detained dozens of others during peaceful demonstrations against Formosa’s discharge of toxic chemicals. Thousands of activists, fishing farmers and traders have participated in protests in many localities in recent days, including in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, Ha Tinh, Hue, Quang Binh and Quang Tri.
In the first half of April, the rubber stamp parliament in the 13th tenure elected the new leadership for the country in the next five years. A number of police generals were elected to the country’s leadership, including President Tran Dai Quang, Vice Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh and Chief of the Supreme People’s Court Nguyen Hoa Binh. Many police officers hold key positions in the ruling communist party, too.
In Vietnam where the ruling communists vow to keep the country under a one-party regime, police torture and degrading treatment remain systemic although the country ratified the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2014.