Journalist death threat investigation call
The Vietnam Journalist Association has asked the authorities in Danang City to investigate a death threat to a reporter while covering news about a local dumping site.
Phan Huu Minh from the Vietnam Journalist Association on October 16 said that they had sent the request to the Danang People's Committee and Danang Police Department about the case of VTC News reporter Nguyen Thanh Ba.
On October 15, Ba and a colleague were at Khanh Son dumping site in Hoa Khanh Nam Ward, Lien Chieu District, to work on a story about pollution when they were detained and experienced death threats by the guards of the Dumping Site Management and Waste Treatment Factory under Danang Urban Environment Company.
Nguyen Thanh Ba reports to the police
VTC News said that Ba had followed all operational processes and the Press Law.
Minh said, "We thereby asked the Danang People's Committee and Danang Police Department to investigate this case, deliver suitable punishment to protect legal journalism practices and inform us about the results."
In the report to the police of Hoa Khanh Nam Ward, Ba said the project was done by him and a reporter at People's Army Newspaper. There is no fence, gate or no entry signboard to the dumping site. They left half an hour later but while they were walking to the motorbikes, a man in guard uniform rushed at them and swore.
"He held me down and seven to eight other people also ran towards us. They threatened to kill and bury us. My colleague tried to record the scene but the guard hit his hand," Ba said.
The guard then opened their backpacks and took away Ba's laptop before bringing them to the company's office and met with a man named Hung. They were released one hour later.
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