Police Brutality and Lethal Beatings
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Many detainees are beaten upon arrest by police or during transit to the police station. Those involved in unauthorized protests or religious gatherings are subject to beatings and excessive use of force by police seeking to disperse the gatherings and carry out arrests. The beatings continue during the first several days in police custody at the local police station, and then during interrogation at pre-trial detention centers, where most political and religious detainees are held incommunicado and denied any contact with family members or a lawyer. In some cases, police beatings of detainees in custody result in death.
“It is a problem, when more and more people are dying at police stations... it is becoming routine.” |
The funeral of Hmong church leader Vam Ngaij Vaj (Hoang Van Ngai), who was beaten to death in police custody in Dak Nong province on March 17, 2013 after resisting closure of his church.
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Beating Deaths in Police Custody
Police fatal beatings of political and religious detainees—none of whom had been brought before a judge or charged with any crime—include:
On May 5, 2017, Hmong Protestant Ma Seo Sung from Dak Nong province died as a result of torture inflicted while in police custody. Five days previously, he and his nephew Giang A Lang were stopped by police who then accused them of using cocaine. Police handcuffed and beat the two men and transferred them to the Dak Lak provincial police detention center. On May 5, the police captain notified family members that Ma Seo Sung had committed suicide by hanging himself in the detention center. However, the rope marks on the body were inconsistent with the stated cause of death, and there were bruises on his neck, chest, thighs, and legs having the appearance of being caused by blunt trauma to the body. Family members were not provided with any documents regarding the arrest, detention or the death of Ma Seo Sung.
In May 2017, Hoa Hao Buddhist Nguyen Huu Tan died within ten hours of being taken into custody at a police detention facility in Vinh Long province, after being arrested on charges of distributing anti-government propaganda. Despite claims by authorities that he committed suicide using a letter opener, his injuries suggest he was tortured in custody. Family members who requested an investigation into his death have been harassed and threatened with arrest and subject to ongoing persecution in connection with their affiliation with an independent Hoa Hao Buddhist religious group.
In January 2016, Pastor Ksor Xiem, the head pastor of an unregistered Montagnard evangelical church, died from injuries sustained during a police beating in December 2015 in Ayun Pa District, Gia Lai Province. The government stated that he died due to disease.
In December 2016, Y Ku Knul, a Montagnard Protestant from Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak, died in police custody. Family members stated that his internal organs were damaged and there were traces of electric shock batons used on his body.
Hmong Protestant church elder Hoang Van Ngai (Vam Ngaij Va) died in police custody on March 17, 2013. Ngai defended his church – which belongs to the legally recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) – when the authorities tried to force it to close. On March 15, 2013, he and his brother Hoang Van Pa were arrested without formal documentation. Detained in an adjacent room, Hoang Van Pa heard the sound of violent beating just before his brother’s limp body was removed from the cell on March 17.
On March 17, 2013, Vam Ngaij Vaj (Hoang Van Ngai) a Hmong Protestant church elder, was beaten to death by police at Gia Nghia police station in Dak Nong. Although his head and torso were bruised and battered, police ruled the death a suicide. Ngai’s brother, who was detained in an adjacent cell, stated that he heard the sound of violent beating from his brother’s cell and later saw that his brother was “completely limp as if he was dead, gone, purple marks on his throat.” Ngai had defended his church – which belongs to the legally recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) – when the authorities tried to force it to close.
In 2008, Dak Lak police arrested Y Ben Hdok and beat him to death in custody after other Montagnards in his district tried to flee to Cambodia to seek political asylum. After his arrest, his family was not allowed to visit him for three days, when police told them to pick up his battered body. According to his family, his head was bashed in, his ribs and limbs were broken, and his teeth had been knocked out. Police labeled the death a suicide.[4]
Montagnard Y Ngo Adrong, 49, died on July 13, 2006, several hours after being summoned to the district police station in Ea H’leo, Dak Lak for questioning about international phone calls he had allegedly had with Montagnards abroad. While police claimed that he hanged himself, the U.S. State Department reported that “bruises on his body strongly suggested he died from a beating.”
On May 5, 2017, Hmong Protestant Ma Seo Sung from Dak Nong province died as a result of torture inflicted while in police custody. Five days previously, he and his nephew Giang A Lang were stopped by police who then accused them of using cocaine. Police handcuffed and beat the two men and transferred them to the Dak Lak provincial police detention center. On May 5, the police captain notified family members that Ma Seo Sung had committed suicide by hanging himself in the detention center. However, the rope marks on the body were inconsistent with the stated cause of death, and there were bruises on his neck, chest, thighs, and legs having the appearance of being caused by blunt trauma to the body. Family members were not provided with any documents regarding the arrest, detention or the death of Ma Seo Sung.
In May 2017, Hoa Hao Buddhist Nguyen Huu Tan died within ten hours of being taken into custody at a police detention facility in Vinh Long province, after being arrested on charges of distributing anti-government propaganda. Despite claims by authorities that he committed suicide using a letter opener, his injuries suggest he was tortured in custody. Family members who requested an investigation into his death have been harassed and threatened with arrest and subject to ongoing persecution in connection with their affiliation with an independent Hoa Hao Buddhist religious group.
In January 2016, Pastor Ksor Xiem, the head pastor of an unregistered Montagnard evangelical church, died from injuries sustained during a police beating in December 2015 in Ayun Pa District, Gia Lai Province. The government stated that he died due to disease.
In December 2016, Y Ku Knul, a Montagnard Protestant from Buon Ma Thuot, Dak Lak, died in police custody. Family members stated that his internal organs were damaged and there were traces of electric shock batons used on his body.
Hmong Protestant church elder Hoang Van Ngai (Vam Ngaij Va) died in police custody on March 17, 2013. Ngai defended his church – which belongs to the legally recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) – when the authorities tried to force it to close. On March 15, 2013, he and his brother Hoang Van Pa were arrested without formal documentation. Detained in an adjacent room, Hoang Van Pa heard the sound of violent beating just before his brother’s limp body was removed from the cell on March 17.
On March 17, 2013, Vam Ngaij Vaj (Hoang Van Ngai) a Hmong Protestant church elder, was beaten to death by police at Gia Nghia police station in Dak Nong. Although his head and torso were bruised and battered, police ruled the death a suicide. Ngai’s brother, who was detained in an adjacent cell, stated that he heard the sound of violent beating from his brother’s cell and later saw that his brother was “completely limp as if he was dead, gone, purple marks on his throat.” Ngai had defended his church – which belongs to the legally recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) – when the authorities tried to force it to close.
In 2008, Dak Lak police arrested Y Ben Hdok and beat him to death in custody after other Montagnards in his district tried to flee to Cambodia to seek political asylum. After his arrest, his family was not allowed to visit him for three days, when police told them to pick up his battered body. According to his family, his head was bashed in, his ribs and limbs were broken, and his teeth had been knocked out. Police labeled the death a suicide.[4]
Montagnard Y Ngo Adrong, 49, died on July 13, 2006, several hours after being summoned to the district police station in Ea H’leo, Dak Lak for questioning about international phone calls he had allegedly had with Montagnards abroad. While police claimed that he hanged himself, the U.S. State Department reported that “bruises on his body strongly suggested he died from a beating.”