As of today, February 21, 2014, three human rights activists - Bui Thi
Minh Hang, Nguyen Thi Thuy Quynh, and Nguyen Van Minh - have been
arbitrarily detained by Dong Thap police for 11 days.
In terms of legal procedure, the temporary detention order expired
yesterday, February 20, 2014. However, Dong Thap police, on the one
hand, still illegally detain the three activists; on the other hand,
they hesitate to press charges against the activists. Reportedly, Mrs.
Bui Thi Minh Hang has launched a hunger strike since February 11 to
protest the arbitrary assault, arrest, and detention carried out by Dong
Thap police.
Dong Thap police have denied requests from relatives of the three
activists asking to visit them. Currently, the activists are detained at
a police prison at An Binh commune, Cao Lanh district, Dong Thap
province, and their health status is unknown.
The authorities have waged a political vendetta against Mrs. Bui Thi
Minh Hang; therefore, her life is seriously threatened while being in
police custody. During her detention in Thanh Ha prison in 2012, she
committed a failed suicide attempt to protect her dignity.
Many witnesses said that Mrs. Hang was brutally beaten by police on
February 11, 2014 when they carried out the arbitrary arrest.
In this police state, it is hard to predict what would happen next to Mrs. Hang and her two friends in prison.
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