Statement Regarding Vietnamese Police Assault On Human Rights Activist Pham Van Troi

June 29, 2008

STATEMENT

In the afternoon of June 28, 2008 (Vietnam time) Pham Van Troi, an active member of the Committee For Human Rights in Vietnam (CHRV), was subjected to “public denunciation” by a 300-strong mob and finally beaten up by scores of underworld thugs in the presence of Vietnamese communist police. He was about to visit the dying mother of Vi Duc Hoi, a CHRV supporter, when police raided the latter’s residence in Lang Son Thai Nguyen province, for a “citizen ID check”. Ngo Quynh, another CHRV supporter, was also roughed up in the police assault.

Since early 2006 Pham Van Troi has been repeatedly summoned to police “working sessions” for persistently calling for basic human rights and being associated with the two founders of CHRV, currently imprisoned lawyers Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan. Consequently, he has been many times isolated, assaulted and inflicted with heavy injuries by communist security agents. Vi Duc Hoi, a former middle-level cadre of the Communist Party of Vietnam, has turned a pro-democracy activist after he openly condemned government violations of human rights.

Once again, the Vietnamese communist authorities has demonstrated total disregard for basic citizens’ rights. Worse this time, they have not only violated one of the basic rights, the freedom of movement, but also blatantly interfered with the exercise of mutual assistance traditions of the Vietnamese people.

In view of the above incident, we

1. Condemn the Vietnamese communist government for continuing to employ violent tactics, including the use of underworld thugs, to deter, harass and suppress voices of political dissent and non-violent acts to promote and protect human rights.

2. Urge the communist government to immediately and unconditionally release Father Nguyen Van Ly, and the two founders of CHRV, human rights lawyers Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan.

3. Call upon all governments, international human rights advocacy organizations, as well as the people around the world, to strongly condemn the Vietnamese communist government for their violent acts, as well as exert pressure on them in order to win the release of these activists.

Made in Hanoi on this 29th day of June, 2008

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