Torturé pour avoir dénoncé la torture
[English version below]
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Le 14 mai 2019, l’ACAT-France a appris que des gardiens de la prison d’An Diêm (province de Quang Nam) où Nguyen Van Hoa est détenu, avaient étranglé et battu ce dernier avant de le placer à l’isolement. Un autre prisonnier de conscience, Hoang Duc Binh, a été témoin de la scène et en a informé sa famille lors d’un appel téléphonique. La sœur de Nguyen Van Hoa s’est rendue à la prison d’An Diêm le 14 mai mais n’a pas pu voir son frère. Un officiel de la prison, présenté comme le capitaine Nguyen Van Tien, l’a informée que Hoa faisait l’objet de mesures disciplinaires pour violation du règlement de la prison et pour avoir « critiqué le Parti communiste ». Son droit de visite est donc révoqué. Contrairement à ce que la loi prévoit, aucune notification officielle de la mise à isolement de Hoa n’a été émise.
Nguyen Van Hoa a été victime de torture et de mauvais traitements dès son arrestation en janvier 2017, en centre de détention et après sa condamnation. A deux reprises, en septembre 2018 et février 2019, il a tenté de porter plainte pour torture en suivant la procédure légale prévue par la loi vietnamienne de 2011 sur les dénonciations (No. 03/2011/QH13). Les deux fois, les autorités de supervision de la prison d’An Diêm et du centre de détention de Ha Tinh ont ignoré ses demandes malgré ce que prévoit la loi vietnamienne.
L’ACAT-France craint que les actes de torture perpétrés récemment ne soient la continuation d’une entreprise d’intimidation et de représailles de la part du personnel pénitentiaire de la prison d’An Diêm visant à le forcer à retirer ses plaintes et purger sa peine sans faire de vagues.
L’ACAT-France, qui avait soutenu la plainte de Nguyen Van Hoa en la relayant auprès des procédures spéciales du Conseil des Droits de l’Homme en mars dernier, a dénoncé ces actes auprès du ministre de la Sécurité publique vietnamien par le biais d’un courrier officiel.
Tortured for denouncing torture
Citizen journalist Nguyen Van Hoa, who is currently serving a 7-year sentence for reporting on Formosa protests, is once again facing torture in prison, in what seems to be reprisals for his previous denunciations of torture.
On 14 May 2019, ACAT received concerning reports that Nguyen Van Hoa had been throttled and beaten by prison guards a few days prior at An Diêm prison. According to a phone call from fellow prisoner of conscience Hoang Duc Binh to his family, Nguyen Van Hoa was then put in solitary confinement for 10 days as a disciplinary measure. His sister, who came to An Diêm prison on 14 May, could not meet with Hoa. She was told by Capt. Nguyen Van Tien that her brother was disciplined for violating prison regulations and “criticizing the Communist Party” and was not allowed to receive visit. No official notice has been filed and sent to the family.
During his arrest, in pre-trial detention and while serving his sentence, Nguyen Van Hoa has repeatedly suffered abuse and torture at the hands of security officers. While detained, he was beaten up by both policemen and prison authorities in order to get him to admit guilt and extract information about other rights activists. His testimony, although obtained under duress, was used to sentence human rights defender Le Dinh Luong to 20 years in prison.
In September 2018 and February 2019, Nguyen Van Hoa filed denunciations with the Board of An Diêm prison and the Ha Tinh detention center to report those acts of torture in accordance with Vietnam’s 2011 Law on Denunciations (Law No. 03/2011/QH13), with no avail.
ACAT fears that these latest developments could be reprisals for the complaints he filed and an attempt to further intimidate him so that he would drop the complaints.
In March 2019, ACAT submitted information on the violations suffered by Nguyen Van Hoa to four special procedures of the Human Rights Council (arbitrary detention, freedom of opinion and expression, human rights defenders and torture). Taking into the latest developments mentioned above, ACAT Director General wrote to the Minister of Public Security and urged him to:
- take immediate steps to ensure that Nguyễn Văn Hóa is protected from any act of intimidation, revenge, ill-treatment or torture from An Diêm prison officials;
- carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into the recent reports of torture of Nguyễn Văn Hóa, with a view to publishing the results and bringing those responsible to justice in accordance with international standards;
- ensure that the denunciation sent by Nguyễn Văn Hóa is handled in accordance with the 2011 Law on Denunciations and settled in a timely, accurate and objective manner.