BRAIN DAMAGE AND A SLOW DEATH FOR “TORTURED” MONTAGNARD DEGAR MAN: ANOTHER NEEDS URGENT MEDICAL TREATMENT

BACKGROUND: The indigenous Montagnard Degar Peoples have suffered decades of persecution by the government of Vietnam , namely; confiscation of their ancestral lands, Christian religious repression, torture, killings and imprisonment. In May 2006 the US State Department has continued to maintain Vietnam on the “watch list” of countries that are the worst violators of religious freedom. To date over 350 Degar prisoners remain in Vietnamese prisons for charges involving merely standing up for human rights, for spreading Christianity or for fleeing to Cambodia . These prisoners are regularly tortured in prison and the Vietnamese authorities will often release them from prison once they are close to death so it will appear they did not die from torture and maltreatment.

 

TORTURE: BRAIN DAMAGE AND A SLOW DEATH

31 May 2006 a Montagnard Degar Christian died from torture having never recovered his mental facilities: On 30 April 2004 the Vietnamese police had arrested a Montagnard Degar Christian named Khon (age 33) and imprisoned him at the prison facility Dak Trung in Daklak province. Khon was from the village of Ploi Hdok , A-Dok commune, Dak Doa District, Gialai province and had participated in the peaceful demonstration on Easter 2004 with thousands of other Degar people. He was perfectly healthy prior to his arrest but was tortured severely with electric shock and beatings. His health deteriorated and authorities feared he would die in custody so they released him on December 30, 2005 . When Khon was returned to his village he could not recognize his family and he was suffering severe brain damage and appeared mentally insane. He was also reported to have been injected with unknown drugs whilst in custody. Khon never regained his senses and he died painfully on 31 May 2006.

CLOSE TO DEATH

28 May 2006 a Degar Montagnard Christian named, Y-Mpi who was born in 1958, from the village of Sarpa , Thuan An commune, Dakmil district, Dak Lak province was released from Ha Nam prison. In custody he had been severely tortured because he had participated in the peaceful demonstration on Easter 2004. His health deteriorated and authorities fearing he would die in custody released him to his family on May 28, 2006 . He is now near death at Kien Giang Hospital close to Ho Chi Minh City . Information received indicates he will not live long due to his injuries and inhumane treatment he received in prison.

11 DEGAR MONTAGNARDS TORTURED: TWO KILLED IN CUSTODY

Montagnard Degar prisoners have reported to the Montagnard Foundation that they saw 11 Degar prisoners being tortured at the same time with Y-Mpi in Ha Nam prison. They also reported seeing two Degar prisoners from Daklak province killed in custody and that their bodies were taken outside of the prison for burial.

The Vietnamese police will repeatedly beat prisoners on their bodies causing internal injuries so that later after they are released the prisoners will die. It is reported the Degar prisoners are also injected with some type of poison. It is a widespread belief throughout the highlands that the Vietnamese authorities hate the Montagnard Degar people because the government wants to confiscate all the ancestral homelands of the Montagnards, that the Vietnamese authorities are racist towards the Montagnard Degar people and that the Vietnamese authorities want to punish the Degar people because of their support given to the US armed forces during Vietnam War.

Without the intervention of the international community the Vietnamese government will continue to carry out racist, discriminatory, even genocidal policies towards the indigenous Degar Montagnard people. The Montagnard Foundation will humbly pray that God will change the way of the world's business and government leaders in order to help our people ensure our human rights are one day protected in Vietnam .

 

THE MONTAGNARD FOUNDATION CALLS ON CONCERNED EMBASSIES IN VIETNAM AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO:  

  • Urgently get medical attention to Y-Mpi who is currently suffering in Kien Giang Hospital , near Ho Chi Minh City .  

  • Urgently pressure Vietnam to release all of the estimated 350 Degar Prisoners from Vietnamese prisons.  

  • Urgently pursue a permanent humanitarian presence in the Central Highlands to monitor the human rights situation by UN and international agencies and international NGOs.