March 16, 2015
Vietnamese human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai was harassed and threatened by security officers outside his home on Sunday morning following his recent release from house arrest. He was also threatened the previous week by individuals who shouted profanity while he was being greeted by guests.
In the latest incident, Dai was prevented from going to church by ten police officers who demanded to see official documents which detailed his completed probation. Dai had never received these documents despite being released from house arrest and was requested to stay home following the arrival of more police officers.
Dai was arrested in March 2007 and charged with “conducting propaganda against the State” under Article 88 of the Vietnamese Penal Code. He served four years in prison before being released under house arrest in 2011.
A prominent legal advocate, Dai has experienced years of targeted harassment, police brutality and faced disbarment for his human rights work. Human rights defenders in Vietnam often go through periods of surveillance, threats of violence, and face daily degradation by plainclothes police or hired thugs.
