CTV Danlambao/Translated by Jasmine Tran (Danlambao) - On 27 August 2015, a group of more than ten people including professor Phạm Minh Hoàng, Đặng Xuân Hà, Trương Minh Tam, Chu Mạnh Sơn, and Trần Thị Nga went to visit Trần Minh Nhật, a prisoner of conscience. Nhật has just finished his jail term in Yên Thành, Đạ Đờn commune, Lâm Hà district in Lâm Đồng province.
On the morning of 28 August, the group said their goodbyes to Nhật’s family. On the way to Đà Lạt, at around 10:30, their car passed a deserted spot in Nghĩa Lâm, Liên Hiệp, Đức Trọng district, Lâm Đồng province. They were then stopped by a group of about twenty thugs.
Chu Mạnh Sơn recalled that some police were amongst the group, as he noticed police uniforms showing underneath their jackets.
As the car was stopped, four in the thug-police group jumped in and repeatedly attacked Chu Mạnh Sơn, Trần Thị Nga and Trương Minh Tam, snatching their mobile phones and deliberately smashing them. They also methodically ransacked their personal bags. Sơn, Nga and Tam were dragged out of the car and savagely beaten on the road. Fortunately, the harassment was not unnoticed by the eyes of local civilians, who began shouting out loudly, “Police beating civilians! Police beating civilians!” Upon hearing that, the thugs and police ceased their assault, quickly returned to their car and drove away instantly.
Chu Mạnh Sơn’s mobile phone smashed. Photos Thuy Nga
Currently, these three dissidents remain in bad health. Chu Mạnh Sơn reported: “We all feel dizzy, our heads in great pain, and our entire bodies are very sore. Tam’s face is full of scrapes and bruises. Nga has many bruises on her back. As for me, blood is still running down my neck.”
Injuries on Chu Mạnh Sơn’s head and face/ Photos Thuy Nga
Trương Minh Tam also was seriously wounded/ Photos Thuy Nga
Through this incident, Sơn believes that such violent attacks are used as a threatening tactic, directed at anyone who may wish to visit and support prisoners of conscience.
Additionally, on this same morning, another group comprising of Lê Đình Lượng, Lê Hương and his wife, teacher Bích Hạnh and her young child, were all cruelly beaten on their way from Lâm Hà to Saigon (Trần Minh Nhật lives in Lâm Hà).
Lê Đình Lượng / Photos Thuy Nga
Lê Đình Lượng was pulled out of the car, kicked repeatedly and had his mobile phone taken.
It is known that on the day Minh Nhật was released, the Commune People’s Committee had closed its gates, preventing his family and friends to come in to welcome the returning prisoner of conscience. Then afterwards, facing objections and protests against their unjust attitude, the committee was obliged to open its doors for the reunion.
30/8/2015
