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465.
Thich Nguyen Vuong, a Buddhist monk member of the Unified Buddhist
Church of Vietnam (UBCV), was reportedly arrested by the Security Police in Ho Chi
Minh City on 11 April 2005. He was stopped on his way home after he visited the
UBCV Deputy leader, Thich Quang Do, at the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery. Reports
indicated that he protested and claimed that the police had no legitimate reason to
arrest him and asked if he could get his papers from the monastery but the police
refused to let him do so. Several Buddhists from the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery then
went outside and surrounded him. He was therefore able to escape from the police and
took refuge in the monastery. Concerns had been expressed that the police were still
posted outside the building where Thich Nguyen Vuong remained at the time of the
communication in order to arrest him if he ever attempted to leave the place.
466.
Thich Vien Phuong, another UBCV monk, was also arrested in similar
circumstances on 30 March 2005. He was reportedly stopped for a traffic offence after
he visited Thich Quang Do and then held in custody for interrogation by security
agents who allegedly seized his camera on which there was a message from Thich
Quang Do to the United Nations Commission on H uman Rights. Reports indicated
that Thich Vien Phuong was subjected to several days of intensive questioning before
he was released.
Response from the Government dated 14 June 2005
467.
The Government indicated that the information and allegations provided to
the Special Rapporteur were totally untrue and that that the facts were as follows:
468.
Tran Minh Hoang (Thich Nguyen Vuong), born in 1948, resides at Gia Lam
pagoda, Go Vap district, Ho Chi Minh City. On 11 April 2005, the traffic police
signaled Hoang while he was riding on motorbike to stop him for committing a traffic
offence. Hoang did not obey and attempted to run away. The traffic police prevented
him from doing so and recorded his offence. Finding that Hoang had no relevant
motorbike documents, the police requested him to take his motorbike to a police
station opposite to Thanh Minh Zen Monastery. The police also discovered that the
number plate of the motorbike that Hoang was riding on was false. On the way to the
police station, Hoang fled into the Monastery. On 19 April 2005, a summon order was
issued for Hoang to present himself at the police station so that his offence could be
processed. Until now, he has not presented himself to the police.
469.
Nguyen Thanh Tho (Thich Vien Phuong), born in 1972, temporarily resides
at Giac Hoa Pagoda, Binh Thanh district, Ho Chi Minh City. On 30 March 2005, Tho,
while riding on motorbike, was stopped by police for a traffic offence. Tho strongly
opposed, trying to involve some Buddhist monks to support him in the incident, thus
causing public disorder. The police had to take Tho to a police station.
470.
Tho was found holding a DVD disc which contained a message from Thich
Quang Do slandering the State of Vietnam on religious suppression and human rights
violation. The police made a minute on Tho’s traffic offence and his unlawful act (in
violation of bullet A, point 5, Article 23 of the Decree 36/CP concerning
administrative treatments for cultural offences).