Report to the UN: Vietnamese police crack down on demonstrators by torture and violence

Today, BPSOS and five Vietnamese civil society organizations filed a joint report to the United Nations Counter-Narcotics Committee to prepare for the review of Vietnam's implementation of the UN Convention Against Torts , will take place on November 14th and 15th.

This general report focuses on police violence and torture on participants and is suspected of participating in anti-cyber-security protests and the draft EEZ. in June this year.

This is a serious violation of the Anti-Trafficking Convention signed by the Vietnamese government on November 7, 2013 and the National Assembly of Vietnam has approved on November 28, 2014. Vietnam's commitments enter into force February 5, 2015.

Police forces in Hanoi, Saigon, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Phan Ri Cua ... have arrested hundreds of protesters and even some people only observed or photographed. Many people were brutally beaten when they were arrested, they were illegally detained, and some were tortured by police investigators.

The report presents some typical examples as Huynh Tan Tuyen, Trinh Van Toan - Nguyen Thanh Loan, Nguyen Thuy Hanh, Nguyen Dang Vu, Nguyen Huu Tin .... Protesters and protesters were arrested - they were arrested days or weeks after the incident, when the public's attention subsided.

There are three US citizens among those arrested arbitrarily. Photo by William Nguyen, Houston resident, beaten and dragged on the street by many international newspapers. Michael Nguyen, a resident of Orange City, Southern California, was arrested along with a number of people suspected of participating in the rally although the party did not participate. On July 20, William Nguyen was sentenced and expelled from Vietnam and Michael Nguyen was detained until today.

The third victim, Dang Minh Ty, is a US citizen living in the city of San Jose, Northern California. June 16 Ty caught in a tourist spot in the city of Saigon; There was no protest at the time. Ty was tortured by police in Ward 6, District 3 during interrogation and was released only late into the night.

In its analysis, the report compares the inadequacies of the report submitted by Viet Nam to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee on September 13, 2017 on the implementation of the UN Convention Against Torture. took place in June this year.

In conclusion, the report gives seven recommendations to the Vietnamese government and three recommendations to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. In these recommendations, the organizations carrying out the report requested the Vietnamese government to properly treat the perpetrators of torture and compensatory damages to the victims, and invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking. Tm to Vietnam Nsm monitoring the situation and contact with the authorities of the state, CSOs and victims.

An annex to the report lists 65 people sentenced to jail and 10 arrested for detention related to the protests.

"Carrying out this report is part of our program to both press the Vietnamese government and support civil society in the country to end torture," said Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang, General Director and President of BPSOS, said.

BPSOS has begun to focus on torture in Vietnam since late 2010 as a new human rights defender and has vigorously advocated the Obama Administration to pressure Vietnam to sign the UN Convention Against Torture.

The CSOs listed in the report include the Boat People SOS (BPSOS), the Defend the Defenders (Human Rights Defender), the Vietnamese Women's Association for Human Rights The Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam, the Former Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience and the Same Vows Association.

In addition, BPSOS is also included in the general report on torture in Vietnam. This report is a joint effort of 6 organizations including: Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT), BPSOS, Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam (CAT-VN), Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV), and Vietnam Coalition Against Torture (VN-CAT).

BPSOS calls for people who have the ability to translate the two English reports into Vietnamese to help people in the country to track.