Dear Sir:

I would like to draw your attention to the brutal assault carried out by the security forces of the Government of Vietnam, and the subsequent sentencing of the victims of the attack and those who protested against the confiscation of their land at the Village of Dong Tam, near the country’s capital city of Hanoi. The purpose of our letter is to urge you and the Canadian government to condemn and take actions against the despicable repression and human rights violations of the Vietnamese government in this attack and its subsequent trial of the Dong Tam villagers.

On January 9, 2020, a crackdown was ordered by the Vietnamese government to silence the farmers’ protest against its appropriation of their land to build an airport. The government used 3,000 heavily armed soldiers in this assault to put down the farmers and kill their 84-year old leader, Mr. Le Dinh Kinh. They also imprisoned Mr. Kinh’s entire family and other villagers to be tried at a later date.

On September 7-14, 2020, a shabby trial was held in Hanoi and, as a result, heavy sentences — for “murder” or “resisting government officials on duty” — were handed down against members of Mr. Kinh’s family and the villagers of Dong Tam:

• Two of Mr. Kinh’s son, Le Dinh Cong and Le Dinh Chuc, were sentenced to death;
• His grandson Le Dinh Doanh was sentenced to life imprisonment;
• Twenty-six other people were sentenced from a suspended 15-month imprisonment to 16 years in prison.

In the above trial, the accused people were not allowed to defend themselves or by their lawyers. In addition, 19 of those sentenced were subject to torture to force them to admit their “non- existing crimes”, some key witnesses were not allowed to testify, and the crime scene not re- enacted at the demand of the defendants’ lawyers.

In view of the above serious violations of human rights of the Dong Tam Village’s farmers, we would like to urge the Government of Canada to protest vehemently against the Government of Vietnam, and to demand that a new trial be held in which the accused are allowed to be defended by themselves or by their lawyers, and international observers are allowed to come and witness the proceedings.

Furthermore, we request that the Government of Canada impose severe sanctions on those responsible for this crackdown as provided for by Canada’s Sergei Magnitsky Law.

Trusting that our request will receive your support, I remain,

Yours sincerely,

Khue-Tu Nguyen, M.D.
President, Canadian Youth for Human Rights in Vietnam (CYHRV)

c.c. The Right Honorable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, P.C., M.P.

Documents concerning Đồng Tâm:

(1) Trial on Sep.14, 2020:

https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2020/09/18/eu-opposes-death- sentence-in-vietnamese-murder-trial

https://vietnam-aujourdhui.info/2020/09/20/lunion-europeenne-denonce-la-condamnation- a-mort-de-deux-responsables-des-emeutes-de-dong-tam/

(2) Vietnamese security forces attack on Jan.9, 2020:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51105808