Dieu Cay has been on hunger strike for 31 consecutive days, his fate is unknown

Danlambao - As of today, July 23, 2013, blogger Dieu Cay - Nguyen Van Hai, has gone on a hunger strike for 31 consecutive days to protest against the communist prison system. A 31-day hunger strike in harsh conditions of solitary confinement is absolutely beyond the endurance of an ordinary person. At press time, the fate of the blogger is unknown.

This morning, 23/7, Mrs. Duong Thi Tan and her son Nguyen Tri Dung went to the People's Procuracy of Nghe An Province to request an immediate intervention. A representative of the office, Mr. Nguyen Quoc An (deputy of No. 4 unit) answered the family "We are waiting for the report of the hunger strike of Mr. Nguyen Van Hai from No. 6 Prison, after reviewing it we will send out an investigator."

Therefore, the People's Procuracy of Nghe An Province has confirmed the hunger strike of blogger Dieu Cay but, citing awaited for report from the prison, it denied to take any action while the life of the blogger is in imminent danger.

Reacting to that answer from the People's Procuracy of Nghe An Province, Mrs. Tan expressed outrage and underlined the need for urgent work on the matter. Under the pressure of the family, Mr. Nguyen Quoc An explained "We have recently worked with No. 6 prison officials by phone. Based on their answers we found the police at No. 6 Prison don’t have any errors during the detention."

Mrs. Tan didn’t buy that explanation. She angrily reacted to the irresponsible work behavior of the People's Procuracy office. Being constantly questioned, the representative of that office, Mr. Nguyen Quoc An, could not answer any more and fled away.

Earlier on 22/07/2013, under the pressure from Mrs. Tan, the People's Procuracy of Nghe An Province signed a “non-receipt of the compliant of Mr. Nguyen Van Hai.” However, at the meeting on July 20, prison police captain Nguyen Van Dieu confirmed with Mrs. Duong Thi Tan "We have forwarded the complaint of Mr. Hai to the People's Procuracy office."

The suspiciously conflicting information make someone think: Have the People's Procuracy of Nghe An Province and No. 6 Prison been plotting to harm blogger Dieu Cay?

In the afternoon on July 22, Mrs. Duong and her son went to No. 6 Prison to make questions on the complaint, and also requested to see Dieu Cay. Unexpectedly, captain Nguyen Van Dieu reversed his previous confirmation, he brazenly said, "The prison has not received the complaint of Mr. Hai." Meanwhile, another prison official said "the complaint of Mr. Hai is being reviewed."

The blatant lies of prison police of No. 6 Prison elevated Mrs. Tan’s anger to the extreme. In front of three prison officials, she loudly condemned the brutal tactics of the prison to harm Dieu Cay. “If Mr. Hai dies, all officials and police of No. 6 Prison must be accountable,” she said.

Despite of facing with intense criticism, those three prison officials remained silent and did not express their usual reactions. Their unusual behavior caused more suspicions - are the prison officials deliberately hiding information related to the life of Dieu Cay?

At this moment, beside the ongoing lies of prison police, people do not know anything more about the current status of the Dieu Cay in the dark dungeon. Certainly, there is no sign that the blogger suspends his hunger strike. Fasting for 31 consecutive days in harsh conditions of solitary confinement is beyond the limit of human endurance. The fate of Dieu Cay is currently unknown!

In addition, blogger Dieu Cay has gone on the hunger strike while detained in solitary confinement due to the brutal 3-month “solitary discipline.” According to former prisoners, “solitary discipline” often associates with leg shackling. This is a form of torture. Communist prisons frequently use this barbaric punishment to control and punish prisoners. There have been known cases in which detainees died from suffering this cruel punishment. One particular case was testified by a former prisoner after his release from prison. (Please read the article: Z30A prison in Xuan Loc shackled prisoner to death.)

It is unknown if Dieu Cay has been shackled during the hunger strike. However, the family said that during the last visitation Dieu Cay was unable to stand up or walk by himself, and two people assisted him.

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* We learn that yesterday, July 22, was the 55th Birthday of Ms. Duong Thi Tan, but she could not remember her Birthday. Since the arrest of Dieu Cay, nobody in her family has had a happy Birthday.