Facebooker Le Xuan Dieu for two consecutive days was beaten and interrogated by Ho Chi Minh City police for articles criticizing the regime on his personal page.

A relative of Mr. Dieu said that officers from the Security Investigation Agency - Ho Chi Minh City Police are investigating him about two Facebook accounts, Dieu Le and Deo Lu, which are believed to be his.

This person told Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the morning of August 2 on condition of anonymity for security reasons:

Mr. Dieu was taken to the headquarters of the City's Investigation Security Agency on the morning of July 31 by the police after refusing to go to the police station after being summoned three times to work on social media posts. Facebook association.

Four policemen burst into the house and escorted him away without a warrant. The police did not search his house ."

This person said that on the first day, Mr. Dieu was kept at the police station all day and was only able to return home late in the evening, with a dilapidated body and many bruises on his face. The results of medical examination and radiograph showed that he had multiple soft tissue injuries and fractured rib number 4.

During the interrogation of Facebook posts on July 31, Dieu was beaten every 30 minutes by 7-8 policemen, relatives said.

Mr. Dieu, 46, was forced to go to the police station in the morning and afternoon of August 1 to work with the same content, but he was no longer beaten as on the first day.

He was only allowed to return home late in the afternoon, the police did not make any further appointments. Now his phone, social media accounts, and even his bank account have been controlled by security.

Relatives said that now Mr. Dieu was in pain all over his body and had to stay at home to recuperate.

The reporter called Mr. Dieu directly to ask about the case, but he refused to answer the interview because he was very tired after working with the police for two days.

The reporter also called the hotline of the Ho Chi Minh City Police to ask about this case, but the person on the phone refused to provide information, asking the reporter to come to the agency to work with the staff or the leadership of the city police.

Mr. Dieu is one of the active dissidents in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam. He used to participate in a number of protests against China's infringement on Vietnam's sovereignty over sea and islands in the East Sea.

On Facebook Dieu Le and Deo Lu have many posts criticizing the regime on issues such as human rights violations, systemic corruption, economic mismanagement, ubiquitous environmental pollution, and sovereignty. Many leaders including Ho Chi Minh, the founder of the regime, were also alluded to in many articles.

In recent times, Vietnamese security forces have stepped up online repression. Two activists Phan Tat Thanh and Duong Tuan Ngoc were recently arrested and prosecuted for "conducting propaganda against the state" after many days of being interrogated by the police. Mr. Thanh is said to be the former admin of the Diary of Patriotism and Mr. Ngoc has many articles and videos criticizing the regime and leader Ho Chi Minh on Facebook and Youtube.

On July 31, three Khmer activists, Danh Minh Quang in Soc Trang and Thach Cuong and To Hoang Chuong in Tra Vinh were arrested for allegedly "abusing democratic freedoms" for their rights-claiming activities. local person.

Since the beginning of this year, at least 12 people have been arrested and prosecuted and seven have been sentenced to between five and eight years in prison for either of these crimes, according to RFA statistics.

Many activists in Hanoi told RFA that they were called by city security to work and asked not to write or share articles with "sensitive" content or participate in civic activities, including peaceful protest.