Founder of Vietnam independent union rearrested: watchdog

 

AFP -  5/21/2010

Authorities in Vietnam have re-arrested one of the founders of an independent trade union and held him almost completely incommunicado since February, Human Rights Watch said Friday.

Doan Huy Chuong, 25, was one of three young activists arrested that month, the New York-based watchdog said in a statement.

It called for their immediate release and expressed concern they might be subject to harsh treatment.

Chuong was arrested in October 2006 after helping to found the United Workers-Farmers Organization (UWFO), which Vietnam has banned. He was later sentenced to 18 months' jail by a court in southern Dong Nai province for "spreading distorted information to undermine the state," government-controlled media reported at the time.

Vietnam bans labour unions that are independent of the ruling Communist Party.

Human Rights Watch said Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, 29, and Do Thi Minh Hanh, 25, have also been held with no access to lawyers and virtually no contact with family since their February arrests.

Hung and Hanh were both supporters of the Victims of Injustice movement, which helps impoverished workers and landless farmers seek redress from the government, the watchdog said.

"Police reportedly told one of the families that the three were detained for distributing anti-government leaflets. However, it is unknown what charges, if any, have been filed against them," it said.

Analysts, rights groups and diplomats have described a worsening human rights situation in communist Vietnam, where at least 20 activists have been jailed since October.

That figure does not include the three reported Friday by Human Rights Watch.

The government says its policy is to respect and protect human rights.

 

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