Arbitrary arrests and severe beating: Policemen and hooligans are to face prosecution

VietLabor * Phương Thảo (Danlambao) Translated - Ms. Do Thi Minh Hanh was arrested by a group of policemen on Sunday morning, 22 November, 2015, while she and some workers were holding consultations with a lawyer to sue Yupoong Company in Dong Nai province for arbitrarily firing nearly 2,000 employees.

On their way back to the police station, these people brutally beat Ms. Hanh.

Similarly, reporter Truong Minh Duc was detained and beaten in the afternoon. The two were hospitalized on 23 November for treatment of their injuries.

Free Viet Labor Federation (or Viet Labor for short), in the face of this incident, publicly announces:

- Viet Labor gratefully thanks the mental and material support of dozens of supporters, who gathered in front of the police station in the evening to demand the release of Minh Hanh and Truong Minh Duc. We also extend our thanks to all those who paid attention to the incident and helped spread the news on social media.

- Also, we thank the western groups and the U.S. Embassy- the organizations we promptly reported the case to on 22 November, 2015. Some have reacted quickly and got the case informed.

- We also hope the governments of civil groups in the U.S., Australia, Japan… will force the Vietnamese authorities to prosecute the policemen and hooligans involved, who illegally arrested and mercilessly beat those who helped the workers. This act is entirely contrary to the commitments Vietnam has made in an effort to join TPP.

- With regard to Yupoong’s customers (Adidas, Columbia, Nike, Puma and Flexfit), we would like to repeat the request in LaborViet’s letter dated 19 November: Recommend Yupoong to stop firing employees and appropriately negotiate with the representatives elected by the workers.

- Finally, here is an excerpt from Do Thi Minh Hanh’s Facebook a few days ago: “Workers are still bullied, maltreated, and even humiliated. Hanh is really happy with all those who have been interested in this case. But instead of merely praising those involved and reading the news, take steps to join us and struggle...”

VietLabor