Cao Ha Truc

On the morning of January 8, 2019, approximately 20 public security officers captured Cao Ha Truc when he was just setting foot on the area of the Mother Mary statue at 5:30 AM, calling others, and announcing the coming forced evictions. Truc reported his arrest in an interview on January 8, 2019.

After bringing Truc to the car, public security forces used a black nylon bag to cover his head and brought him to an unidentified police station, where he was beaten for claiming Loc Hung residents’ right to their land. Police then stopped “working” with him but later forced him to sign a report and admit to the crime of “disturbing public order” on January 4, 2019. Since he refused, Truc was again covered with a bag and brought to the police station of Ward 10, Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh city.

Finally, he was released at 2:30 AM on the next day and took a taxi to go home.  

However, his incident seems to have continued after Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thanh Loi, police captain of Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City, accused five Loc Hung residents — Cao Ha Truc, Cao Ha Chanh, Tran Quoc Tien, Vu Van Bao, and Tran Minh Thoa — of leading and inciting others to protest against public officials on duty at Loc Hung during the forced evictions, according to a press conference on January 20, 2019. Police are now in the process of pressing criminal charges against the five.

At around 5:00 pm on December 17, 2019, Truc was detained by the public security force of Binh Tu Commune, Thang Binh District, Quang Ngai Province when giving Christmas gifts to the veterans of the former Republic of Vietnam. The charity event happened in a peaceful environment, with no signs of political intentions, but caused his detention. At 9:10 pm of the day, Facebooker Thi Tan Duong, who also joined the gift-giving event, reported that Truc came home safely. It is unknown if he suffered any harassment and torture at the police station.