CTV Danlambao * Translated by Jasmine Tran (Danlambao) - The Vietnamese government has transferred prisoner of conscience Trần Thị Nga from Hà Nam to Đắk Trung prison, which is located in a remote region of Cứ M'gar district, Đắk Lắk Province. Đắk Lắk is over a 1000 kilometres from Hà Nam.
On March 5th 2018, Mr Phan Văn Phong, Nga’s husband, informed us that prison officials had refused to pass on the necessities he had brought for Nga, as she had been transferred to another prison on February 28th (the 13th day of first month of the Lunar New Year).
During an exchange with the Danlambao’s collaborator, Phong expressed his concerns: “I am already 64 years old and have to look after my two young children. The fact that Thúy Nga has been transferred to a remote prison like Đắk Trung makes me very worried. For such a long distance, visiting her and ensuring she receives her necessities will cost more money, and take more time.
Dac Trung detention center is known to be managed by the ‘Tổng cục 8’, Department 8 of the Ministry of public security.
Not long ago, another prisoner of conscience, Mẹ Nấm – Nguyễn Ngọc Như Quỳnh, had also been moved from Khánh Hòa prison to Thanh Hóa Detention Camp 5, which was over 1,000 kilometres away from her family. Far crueller, after the transfer, camp guards at Camp 5 refused to let Mẹ Nấm to access the medication and necessities posted to her from her mother.
On his facebook, blogger Phạm Lê Vương Các has advised: “According to international human rights laws, the practice of transferring prisoners to a detention centre far away from their local residence in order to prevent, or to cause difficulty for family visits, constitutes an act of cruelty or inhumanity.”
Trần Thị Nga’s profile:
Trần Thị Nga (born 1977, residing in Hà Nam) has been sentenced to nine years in jail and five years under house arrest for "conducting propaganda against the State" under Article 88 of the Vietnamese penal code.
Nga was arrested in January 2017. The communist media reported that Nga had distributed video clips against the party and the regime. In reality, Nga’s activities were critically analysing contemporary events in the country, and advocating for civil rights.
Nga formerly assisted the victims of injustice, whose lands were unfairly seized by the government; she assisted in their petitioning to demand their rights and entitlements. She also joined peaceful demonstrations protesting against Chinese aggressions, and opposed the presence of Formosa Steel Company in Ha Tinh, which was responsible for the marine life disaster across four provinces in central Vietnam.
Nga’s efforts, her contributions, and her bravery in fighting for democracy in Vietnam have been internationally recognised. She is amongst 17 Asian women named in “It’s not OK”, a book edited and published by Radio Free Asia.
Amnesty International has also nominated her as one of six outstanding female human rights activists in Southeast Asia, who were honoured on International Women’s Day 2017.
In 2018, Nga received the “Spirit of Trần Văn Bá 2018 Award”.
