Concerns Raised
as Vietnam May Empower Commune Police
Vu Quoc Ngu - July 23, 2014
Defend the Defenders
Local legal experts have expressed their concerns over a proposal of Vietnam’s
Ministry of Public Security to give more power to policemen at the grass-root
level in the communist nation.
According to the proposal, policemen in communes and wards across Vietnam can
conduct some initial investigations to deal with rising crimes across the
country.
Empowering communal policemen will affect investigations later since the secret
information will leak out, said legal experts.
Meanwhile, ordinary residents fear that the move could harbor power abuses among
the grass-root policemen after a number of deaths which were blamed for
interrogation and tortures by policemen, including the serious case in Bac
Giaing, Hai Duong, Dak Lak, Binh Duong provinces and Danang city.
According to human rights bodies, 11 Vietnamese have been killed in police
stations since the beginning of 2014. In June, three Vietnamese died from local
police torture.
Vietnam ratified the UN Convention against Torture in May.