Vietnam Detains Democracy Activist For ‘Reactionary’ Ties
RFA
- 10/22/2015
Authorities in
Vietnam detained and later released a democracy activist as she tried to enter
the country from neighboring Laos, with state media claiming she maintains ties
to “reactionary” organizations banned by the government and had earlier been
forbidden from traveling abroad.
Nguyen Thi Phi, 56, was taken into custody on Oct. 17 by Vietnamese border
control officers while passing through the Cau Treo checkpoint from Laos into
Vietnam’s Ha Tinh province, according to a report by the official VietnamNet
Bridge, published three days later.
Phi had been “prohibited” from leaving Vietnam and was not in possession of a
passport, VietnamNet said, but had illegally traveled to Cambodia in August
through the Moc Bai checkpoint in Vietnam’s Tay Ninh province before continuing
on to Thailand, where she had previously lived.
State-owned Voice of Vietnam said police in Ha Tinh searched Phi’s laptop and an
external hard drive and found “several documents proving her relationship with
reactionary people both inside and outside Vietnam.” Included in the documents
were articles promoting the activities of Viet Tan—a pro-democracy party banned
in the country, it said in a report.
The report featured a photo of Phi surrounded by officers and holding a sign
with her name on it, detailing her alleged offenses.
On Thursday, Phi posted a message to her Facebook account saying that police had
released her but confiscated her computer and hard drive, and that she was able
to communicate online only by visiting an internet café.
She did not specify when she had been set free.
Phi said she had traveled to Thailand to retrieve assets she left there during
her stay and—because she lacked a passport—had joined up with “illegal
Vietnamese migrants” who promised to help her reenter Vietnam.
However, she was “left on my own at the Cau Treo checkpoint because they didn’t
honor the agreement,” and was subsequently detained.
Phi denied that she was in possession of “reactionary” documents when she
attempted to enter the country, and said she had expected to pass through the
border after paying a fine for traveling without a passport.
“My computer didn’t contain any documents against the government of Vietnam, as
claimed by the Ha Tinh border police,” the message said.
“They only told me that because I had entered Vietnam without passport, I would
have to pay a fine, according to the law on immigration.”
According to Phi, she paid the fine, but border police then “forced” her to hold
up a sign with her name and offenses written on it and took a photo.
“I asked them why they did it and they said they needed to keep a record at the
border to monitor for illegal immigrants, and that the photo would not be used
in the newspaper,” she said.
Phi added that, after her release, she met with police in the capital Hanoi to
discuss the incident at the checkpoint, demanding that her photo and claims
about her being in possession of reactionary documents be removed from all state
media reports.
The police told her to “remain calm” and said they would contact her later.
“I’m still waiting for the response from the Hanoi public security police to my
request,” she wrote.
‘Not a member of Viet Tan’
When contacted by RFA’s Vietnamese Service, Viet Tan spokesman Hoang Tu Duy
denied that Phi had any connection to his party.
“Nguyen Thi Phi is not a member of Viet Tan and has nothing to do with Viet
Tan’s activities, so we are unaware of what documents she may have been in
possession of,” Duy said.
“Viet Tan has no knowledge of her activities,” he added.
Duy stressed that Viet Tan’s mission is to promote the democratization of
Vietnam in a nonviolent manner.
“Unfortunately, the government of Vietnam believes that any positive activities
aimed at reform are ‘reactionary’ or ‘against the state,’” he said.
“We believe that all Vietnamese people should have the right to contribute to
change in the country.”
Nguyen Thi Phi fled to Thailand in 2011 after accusing police in Hanoi of
harassing and beating her, which she said was in retribution for several
articles critical of the government she had posted online.
In an interview with RFA at the time, Phi said that she felt the need to
relocate to Thailand because life in Vietnam was devoid of human rights and the
freedom of expression.
“While life abroad may be extremely difficult, at least we have the right to
speak our minds freely,” she said.
Reported by RFA’s Vietnamese service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in
English by Joshua Lipes.