The People's Procuracy of Nghe An Province has confirmed the hunger strike of blogger Dieu Cay
Danlambao - As of today, July 23, 2013, blogger Dieu Cay - Nguyen Van Hai,
has gone on a hunger strike for 31 consecutive days to protest against
the communist prison system. A 31-day hunger strike in harsh conditions
of solitary confinement is absolutely beyond the endurance of an
ordinary person. At press time, the fate of the blogger is unknown.
In the mean time, the Vietnam's President Truong Tan Sang will come to the U.S. and meets President Obama at the White House on July 25th. The Vietnamese community around Washington D.C. will held protest in front of the White House during this time.
On Thursday morning, the President Obama will welcome the President of Vietnam to the White House. The President welcomes the opportunity to discuss with President Sang how to further strengthen our partnership on regional strategic issues and enhance our cooperation with ASEAN. The President also looks forward to discussing human rights, emerging challenges such as climate change, and the importance of completing a high standard Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
On Thursday morning, the President Obama will welcome the President of Vietnam to the White House. The President welcomes the opportunity to discuss with President Sang how to further strengthen our partnership on regional strategic issues and enhance our cooperation with ASEAN. The President also looks forward to discussing human rights, emerging challenges such as climate change, and the importance of completing a high standard Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
This morning, 23/7, Mrs. Duong Thi Tan and her son Nguyen Tri Dung
went to the People's Procuracy of Nghe An Province to request an
immediate intervention. A representative of the office, Mr. Nguyen Quoc
An (deputy of No. 4 unit) answered the family "We are waiting for the
report of the hunger strike of Mr. Nguyen Van Hai from No. 6 Prison,
after reviewing it we will send out an investigator."
Therefore, the People's Procuracy of Nghe An Province has confirmed the
hunger strike of blogger Dieu Cay but, citing awaited for report from
the prison, it denied to take any action while the life of the blogger
is in imminent danger.
Reacting to that answer from the People's Procuracy of Nghe An Province,
Mrs. Tan expressed outrage and underlined the need for urgent work on
the matter. Under the pressure of the family, Mr. Nguyen Quoc An
explained "We have recently worked with No. 6 prison officials by
phone. Based on their answers we found the police at No. 6 Prison don’t
have any errors during the detention."
Mrs. Tan didn’t buy that explanation. She angrily reacted to the
irresponsible work behavior of the People's Procuracy office. Being
constantly questioned, the representative of that office, Mr. Nguyen
Quoc An, could not answer any more and fled away.
Earlier on 22/07/2013, under the pressure from Mrs. Tan, the People's
Procuracy of Nghe An Province signed a “non-receipt of the compliant of
Mr. Nguyen Van Hai.” However, at the meeting on July 20, prison police
captain Nguyen Van Dieu confirmed with Mrs. Duong Thi Tan "We have
forwarded the complaint of Mr. Hai to the People's Procuracy office."
The suspiciously conflicting information make someone think: Have the
People's Procuracy of Nghe An Province and No. 6 Prison been plotting to
harm blogger Dieu Cay?
In the afternoon on July 22, Mrs. Duong and her son went to No. 6 Prison
to make questions on the complaint, and also requested to see Dieu Cay.
Unexpectedly, captain Nguyen Van Dieu reversed his previous
confirmation, he brazenly said, "The prison has not received the
complaint of Mr. Hai." Meanwhile, another prison official said "the
complaint of Mr. Hai is being reviewed."
The blatant lies of prison police of No. 6 Prison elevated Mrs. Tan’s
anger to the extreme. In front of three prison officials, she loudly
condemned the brutal tactics of the prison to harm Dieu Cay. “If Mr. Hai
dies, all officials and police of No. 6 Prison must be accountable,”
she said.
Despite of facing with intense criticism, those three prison officials
remained silent and did not express their usual reactions. Their unusual
behavior caused more suspicions - are the prison officials deliberately
hiding information related to the life of Dieu Cay?
At this moment, beside the ongoing lies of prison police, people do not
know anything more about the current status of the Dieu Cay in the dark
dungeon. Certainly, there is no sign that the blogger suspends his
hunger strike. Fasting for 31 consecutive days in harsh conditions of
solitary confinement is beyond the limit of human endurance. The fate of
Dieu Cay is currently unknown!
In addition, blogger Dieu Cay has gone on the hunger strike while
detained in solitary confinement due to the brutal 3-month “solitary
discipline.” According to former prisoners, “solitary discipline” often
associates with leg shackling. This is a form of torture. Communist
prisons frequently use this barbaric punishment to control and punish
prisoners. There have been known cases in which detainees died from
suffering this cruel punishment. One particular case was testified by a
former prisoner after his release from prison. (Please read the article:
Z30A prison in Xuan Loc shackled prisoner to death.)
It is unknown if Dieu Cay has been shackled during the hunger strike.
However, the family said that during the last visitation Dieu Cay was
unable to stand up or walk by himself, and two people assisted him.
