An investigation by the security agency concluded that the Hanoi-based human rights activist had serious mental problems and needed treatment, the latest case of a dissident with the Vietnamese state being arrested and sent to a mental hospital for treatment indefinitely.
On May 6, Mr. Huynh Ngoc Chenh, husband of activist Nguyen Thuy Hanh, said that the police agency had announced that Hanh had been sent for compulsory treatment for depression since the end of April after organizing a medical examination and psychiatric evaluation of this human rights activist.
Ms. Nguyen Thuy Hanh – the founder and runner of the 50k Fund, which specializes in helping the families of prisoners of conscience, was detained by Hanoi police last year for allegedly “disseminating anti-state documents.”
In an interview with Radio Free Asia right after finishing the working session with the police agency, Mr. Huynh Ngoc Chenh said specific information:
“They informed about the decision to temporarily suspend the detention of Nguyen Thuy Hanh and have to undergo medical treatment at the Central Institute of Forensic Psychiatry.”
As we previously reported, Ms. Nguyen Thuy Hanh was already suffering from severe depression and had to undergo treatment for this disease before her arrest.
However, according to Mr. Huynh Ngoc Chenh, during the meeting this morning, the representative of the police said that Ms. Hanh’s condition before being arrested was not serious enough to be exempt from criminal responsibility.
And it was not until she was taken into custody that the activist’s depression worsened, so she was taken to treatment.
The investigative security agency also said that after receiving treatment, Hanh would still have to face prosecution. But the treatment time is not disclosed, Mr. Chenh said:
“I asked about it, but the investigating agencies didn’t know it, they said it was a matter of science, only the forensic institute could answer, but they only knew that when the disease was over, they would bring her back for further investigation. They already have the conclusion of the investigation, now just waiting for the illness to be cured.”
Mr. Huynh Ngoc Chenh, who is a blogger who was awarded the 2013 Cyber Citizen Award by Reporters Without Borders and Google, also expressed concern on his personal Facebook page that Hanh would be sent for treatment indefinitely like blogger Le Anh Hung of Voice of America (VOA).
Mr. Le Anh Hung was arrested in July 2018 for allegedly “abusing democratic freedoms,” and in April 2019, he was sent to the Central Mental Hospital 1 for treatment, but still remains there without being tried.
Notably, during the process of “compulsory treatment,” Mr. Hung repeatedly told his family that he was beaten and abused by medical staff.
Ms. Nguyen Thuy Hanh used to be a successful woman before embarking on the path of human rights activism.
In 2016, this woman born in 1963 ran for election in the National Assembly election with a platform focused on protecting sovereignty and protecting women’s rights, including a promise when elected to propose The National Assembly agreed and assigned the Government to submit and sign the Dossier against China to the International Court for the forcible occupation of the entire Hoang Sa (Paracels) of Vietnam in the South China Sea from January 1974.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
