Bloggers bị bắt bớ và tấn công trong khi dã ngoại bàn về nhân quyền: Bloggers were arrested and attacked while having picnic to discuss Human Rights (CNN).
Unfortunately, instead of encouraging open discussion about universal human rights during the time when the Vietnamese government is calling for citizens' input for its constitutional amendments, as early as 6:30 am on the morning of May 5, the authorities made its presence known with hundreds of security police, both in uniforms and plain clothes. They used various tactics to stop people from participating in these picnics, including violent means. Barbed wires were set up around the perimeters of all the parks, and police used metal sticks, batons, to strike at participants. Cameras and cell phones were also confiscated.
Blogger Nguyen Hoang Vi, her sister (Nguyen Thao Chi) and her mother were all beaten up severely. With her mother's existing poor heart condition, when a security police jabbed his lit cigarette into her face, her mother fainted. Her sister was punched continually in the face, and 3 of her front teeth were knocked out. The security police did not stop even when her shirt was soaked in blood.
Blogger and poet Vu Sy Hoang (pen name Hanh Nhan) was also arrested at the same time as Nguyen Hoang Vi, and was taken to a different police station.
Blogger Quoc Anh was also arrested and subjected to torture during his 9-hour detention. He blacked out when the security police used an electric stick to shock him. They wanted to force him to confess to charges that were drawn up for him to sign. When he refused to plead guilty to their trumped-up charges, they continued beating him savagely, to the point that he fainted again. The police then took him to the police station for more beatings and interrogation until they finally released him.
Blogger Me Nam and other well-known bloggers were also under heavy surveillance to stop them from leaving their houses and attending the Human Rights Discussion Picnic in the parks. Their internet as well as phone services were also cut off to stop them from sending out messages via their mobile phones or other social media tools.
