Four Policemen on court. Source: vietnamnet
By Vu Quoc Ngu
Defend the Defenders | Sept 18, 2014
The People’s Court in Hanoi on Sept 17 opened a trial against four policemen officers who are charged of conducting torture during an interrogation which led to death of one resident, state media reported.
Hoang Ngoc Tuyen, deputy head of police in Kim No commune in Dong Anh district and three policemen named Nguyen Trong Kien, Doan Van Tuyen and Hoang Ngoc Thuc in the commune were accused to use baton to beat Nguyen Duc Thuan on Aug 30, 2012 during an interrogation. Mr. Thuan, born in 1958, arrested for causing public disorder on the same day, died in late afternoon at the police station.
The next day, the four policemen were arrested and charged of killing Mr. Thuan by torture.
According to Vietnam’s law, police officers conducting torture may face up 15 years in jail.
Police brutality during interrogation is a serious problem in Vietnam, threatening the integrity and stability of the nation, said lawmaker Truong Trong Nghia last week. Many police investigators treat suspects like their enemies, he said, adding that wrongful verdicts, threats and torture are critical threats to the system itself.
Minister of Public Security General Tran Dai Quang admitted that 19 police officers have been fired for torturing suspects between 2011 and 2013. During the same three-year period, 183 others were disciplined for violating investigative procedures and regulations through dismissal, demotion or reassignment.
In its report titled “Public Insecurity: Deaths in Custody and Police Brutality in Vietnam” released on Sept 16, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlights cases of police brutality that resulted in deaths and serious injuries of people in custody between August 2010 and July 2014. Accordingly, police torture incurred in 44 provinces and 5 largest cities out of 63 provinces and cities in the communist nation.
The 96-page report named 28 Vietnamese citizens died while were being detained in police stations, of those, 14 deaths were caused by police violence as authorities admitted, four from unexplained causes, six were allegedly suicides and four allegedly from illness during detention, according to the HRW’s statistics during the period.
In addition, 11 other Vietnamese citizens reported that they were severely beaten by policemen in the past four years, the HRW said.
Vietnamese police act more like a political agency to safeguard the communist party’s hold on power than a professional force for public safety, said the HRW. Vietnam lacks a strong legal culture, has relatively few checks-and-balances on those in power and has a state-controlled media that is discouraged from investigative journalism, it noted.
The HRW urged Vietnam’s government to immediately adopt a zero-tolerance policy for abuse by police, provide better training for police at all levels, particularly commune police, and install cameras in interrogation and detention facilities. Hanoi also should facilitate the role of legal counsel for suspects and detainees and ensure freedom of expression for journalists and in the internet, it said.
The government should also form an independent police complaints commission to review and investigate all reported police abuse and misconduct and provide high-level support for prompt and impartial investigations and prosecutions of police abuse and misconduct, said the HRW. (nguoilaodong.vn Sept 17,hrw.org Sept 16)
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September 19, 2014
Hanoi Court Tries Four Policemen Alleged of Beating to Death One Resident
by HR Defender • [Human Rights], Nguyen Duc Thuan
Four Policemen on court. Source: vietnamnet
By Vu Quoc Ngu
Defend the Defenders | Sept 18, 2014
Hoang Ngoc Tuyen, deputy head of police in Kim No commune in Dong Anh district and three policemen named Nguyen Trong Kien, Doan Van Tuyen and Hoang Ngoc Thuc in the commune were accused to use baton to beat Nguyen Duc Thuan on Aug 30, 2012 during an interrogation. Mr. Thuan, born in 1958, arrested for causing public disorder on the same day, died in late afternoon at the police station.
The next day, the four policemen were arrested and charged of killing Mr. Thuan by torture.
According to Vietnam’s law, police officers conducting torture may face up 15 years in jail.
Police brutality during interrogation is a serious problem in Vietnam, threatening the integrity and stability of the nation, said lawmaker Truong Trong Nghia last week. Many police investigators treat suspects like their enemies, he said, adding that wrongful verdicts, threats and torture are critical threats to the system itself.
Minister of Public Security General Tran Dai Quang admitted that 19 police officers have been fired for torturing suspects between 2011 and 2013. During the same three-year period, 183 others were disciplined for violating investigative procedures and regulations through dismissal, demotion or reassignment.
In its report titled “Public Insecurity: Deaths in Custody and Police Brutality in Vietnam” released on Sept 16, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) highlights cases of police brutality that resulted in deaths and serious injuries of people in custody between August 2010 and July 2014. Accordingly, police torture incurred in 44 provinces and 5 largest cities out of 63 provinces and cities in the communist nation.
The 96-page report named 28 Vietnamese citizens died while were being detained in police stations, of those, 14 deaths were caused by police violence as authorities admitted, four from unexplained causes, six were allegedly suicides and four allegedly from illness during detention, according to the HRW’s statistics during the period.
In addition, 11 other Vietnamese citizens reported that they were severely beaten by policemen in the past four years, the HRW said.
Vietnamese police act more like a political agency to safeguard the communist party’s hold on power than a professional force for public safety, said the HRW. Vietnam lacks a strong legal culture, has relatively few checks-and-balances on those in power and has a state-controlled media that is discouraged from investigative journalism, it noted.
The HRW urged Vietnam’s government to immediately adopt a zero-tolerance policy for abuse by police, provide better training for police at all levels, particularly commune police, and install cameras in interrogation and detention facilities. Hanoi also should facilitate the role of legal counsel for suspects and detainees and ensure freedom of expression for journalists and in the internet, it said.
The government should also form an independent police complaints commission to review and investigate all reported police abuse and misconduct and provide high-level support for prompt and impartial investigations and prosecutions of police abuse and misconduct, said the HRW. (nguoilaodong.vn Sept 17,hrw.org Sept 16)