Prisoners of Conscience Hoang Duc Binh, Nguyen Bac Truyen in Hunger Strike to Protest Placing Jailed Blogger Nguyen Van Hoa in Isolation

Imprisoned HRD Hoang Duc Binh

 

Defend the Defenders, May 23, 2019

 

Prisoners of conscience Hoang Duc Binh and Nguyen Bac Truyen and others are conducting hunger strike in An Diem Prison camp to protest the prison’s placing their co-inmate Nguyen Van Hoa in isolation, Defend the Defenders has learned from Binh’s younger brother.

Imprisoned HRD Nguyen Bac Truyen

Speaking on the telephone, Mr. Hoang Van Hao (Facebooker Hoang Nguyen) told Defend the Defenders that the two jailed human rights activists are in their 11th day of fasting.

During the meeting with his mother and younger brother in May 23’s morning, Binh said in early May, Mr. Hoa was summoned by the prison’s authorities for an unknown reason. At the end of the meeting, they reportedly requested him to sign in a meeting minute which was with a number of blank spaces between written paragraphs. Hoa was said to deny to signing in a such of the document so there was a quarrel between them. Later, prison guards beat Hoa and took him away instead of returning him to his cell.

Imprisoned blogger Nguyen Van Hoa

In response, Mr. Binh and Mr. Truyen declared that they would not eat to protest the prison’s failure to inform them of their discipline measures against Hoa and where they are holding him.

According to the prison’s regulation, its authorities are required to publicize the disciplines against any prisoner and inform his/her inmates if they want to place him/her to a solitary cell.

On May 14, after being informed by Mr. Binh’s family about police’s torture against Hoa, Ms. Hue, the older sister of Hoa, went to the prison to request for meeting with him, however, its authorities told her that he is placed in a disciplined room and not permitted to meet with his relatives. They didn’t inform her about the reason for the discipline against him.

Mr. Binh, Mr. Truyen, and Mr. Hoa are prisoners of conscience serving their respective sentences of 14 years, 11 years and seven years for their human rights advocacy in An Diem Prison camp.