Đỗ Ngọc Hương, born in Thái Bình, lives in Trần Thành Ngọ ward, Kiến An district, Hải Phòng province, with his wife and two young children.
In May 2013, when China deployed its oil rig HD981 into the territorial waters of Vietnam, violating Vietnam's national sovereignty, Hương had responded to the call of twenty civil society organizations, and joined the anti-China protest. He also often visits pro-democracy activists in Hải Phòng such as Vũ Cao Quận, Nguyễn Mạnh Sơn, blogger Phạm Thanh Nghiên, and writer Nguyễn Xuân Nghĩa. Upon the release of two prisoners of conscience, Trần Anh Kim and Nguyễn Văn Túc, Hương travelled from Hải Phòng to Thái Bình to visit and encourage them. He was also a signatory in the Open Letter to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, backing The Human Rights Campaign 2015 - We Are One.
On 23 July, 2015, Hương came by Phạm Thanh Nghiên's house, while it was under strict watch by dozens of security personnel. Nghiên, a former prisoner of conscience, was prohibited from leaving her house, or having visitors. The police tried to prevent her and her friends from joining the World Hunger Strike Day that requested the release for all prisoners of conscience. That hunger strike was a second step in the Human Rights Campaign 2015 - We Are One.
Photo by Phạm Thanh Nghiên
Even though stopped at the gate, Hương managed to get into the house. But when he left, at least ten plainclothes police violently caught him at the alley entrance. One of them hit him but he managed to avoid any further attack and protested against it. The plainclothes men introduced themselves as police, requesting Hương to show his identity card. They checked it and questioned him on the way to the police station. Half way to the station they let him go and said they would "work" with him later.
Another visitor (also named Hương, daughter-in-law of Thuý Nguyễn, a victim of injustice in Hải Phòng), reported on her Facebook page that there were dozens of men, amongst them many plainclothes police, who were often blocking off Nghiên's house. They had ordered her taxi driver not to stop in the area of Nghiên's house. She also noticed many men carrying "dirty bombs" and stones. At the same time, Nghiên reported that her house was stoned by the police guarding at the gate.
Hương told DanLamBao's reporter he believed that Hải Phòng police has violated the laws and abused his citizen's rights. He was certain that he did nothing against the law, let alone any dishonest and irresponsible act.
Still, he was anxious for his family. "I am a family man with two young children,’ he said ‘One is in grade six, the other is nearly two. I need to work to support my family and myself. I don't know how I can manage to earn a living. But I am sure of one thing, I lost my job because I want to be a decent man. I don't accept being a coward, shutting my mouth as I see my country’s land and sea being invaded by the China. I don't want to see anybody get harmed like me. But I know my case is not the only one."
Mr Đỗ Ngọc Hương
