Torture Survivors' Stories

Catholic Parishioner Tran Thanh Tien

Tran Thanh Tien was among 62 people in his village who were arrested and severely beaten by police in May 2010 for participating in a funeral procession and protest march to a cemetery located on disputed land in Da Nang. Police shocked him with an electric baton and beat him in his chest and arm pits from 3 pm until 10 pm. When he passed out, they threw soapy water on him. They hit him on his back with hardened plastic kitchen stools. They hung him by his handcuffed wrist from the window ledge for an entire afternoon, beating him as he hung there. After his release, when he refused to report on other villagers, police beat him again. 

“There were two men beating me, one on each side. They boxed both ears, one ear then the other. They hit me with their fists, and slapped me. They beat me so hard that the inside of my body still hurts today.”

“Before this happened to me, I never heard of any torture in police stations before this. Nobody dares to speak about it. I realized that people who are tortured by the police don’t dare speak about it.

“I never imagined I’d be beaten like that. This is our tradition in burying the dead, to send them to the last place. I never expected police to crack down on a funeral procession like that.

“The last words the police told me were, we know you are a farmer, you are a strong man. We guarantee that after you are released you will not be able to farm anymore.

“In fact, it’s true. Since I was released I don’t feel very well. I have chest pains, back pain, coughing, and blurred vision. My ears ring and I have hearing problems. I can’t carry heavy weights any more – the police pulled my muscle when they handcuffed my hand and hung me by my wrist from the window ledge, beating me on my knee joints and groin.

“Sometimes when I’m tired I have nightmares. The fear goes back to my mind. When I have that dream I can’t get up, I’m so weak with fear— it takes two or three hours to recover. After the nightmare it’s several hours before I can move or get up.”

UPDATE: In 2012 Tran Thanh Tien resettled as a refugee to the United States, where he  testified before Congress in April 2013 about police torture and abuse of people from his village in Da Nang.


--Interview conducted by the Campaign to Abolish Torture in Vietnam.

Tran Thanh Tien testifying before the U.S. Congress in April 2013 regarding human rights violations in Vietnam.

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