Published: April 03, 2013--CathNews
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| Beaten picture of Vam Ngaij Vaj |
Photographs taken soon after the death of Vam Ngaij Vaj show “severe and bloody bruising” on his back and neck, CSW said in a statement on Tuesday.
“CSW calls on the Vietnamese government to fully investigate the circumstances in light of signs that he was tortured,” said the group’s chief executive, Mervyn Thomas.
Vaj, an elder of a church affiliated to the officially recognized Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) and a member of the Hmong minority, was arrested for “destroying the forest” while clearing brush from his field with his wife, CSW said.
He was arrested on March 16 and died just a day later. Police claim he had accidentally put his hand into an electric socket, CSW said.
But the US Morningstar News website quoted a local Hmong leader as saying he may have been electrocuted as well as beaten.
The incident occurred in Dak Nong province in the Central Highlands and CSW said sources there report that the charge of destroying the forest is used to intimidate local Christians, many of whom fled to the area from further north to escape religious persecution.
It says it received reports last month of harassment and intimidation by local authorities and “thugs working with them.”
In another story, a Catholic Vietnamese fish farmer who became a hero for resisting compulsory land eviction has gone on trial, Radio Australia reports
Doan Van Vuon is charged with attempted murder after he and his family confronted authorities trying to evict them from their fish farm in Tien Lang district.
Mr Vuon, 50, is being tried for attempted murder with three other male relatives, who have all been in detention since the incident.
The charge carries a maximum sentence of death.
His wife and sister-in-law are being tried on a charge of resisting officers.
According to the indictment read out in court, Mr Vuon and his relatives used the homemade weapons and demonstrated "murderous behaviour" towards public officials.
"I knew the use of weapons was not in accordance with the law... my view was that the eviction was illegal so if they did not stop I would be forced to fight it," Mr Vuon said.
"We just wanted to threaten them."
He said his family did not intend to hurt anyone during the standoff but had decided to fight back to try to draw the attention of the country's leaders to their plight.
Five former local officials in the area will go on trial next Monday over the destruction of Mr Vuon's house.
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