Vietnam land protesters free final hostages after city official visits

Villagers in Dong Tam seized 38 officials, including police officers after four people were arrested in retaliation for protests staged during the escalating land dispute

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Hostages, who were originally held by villagers in a land dispute, walk out after the villagers released them in Dong Tam, outside Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo: Reuters

Published: 6:04pm, 22 Apr 2017Updated: 10:42pm, 22 Apr 2017

Protesters involved in a land dispute near Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, released the final 20 officials they had been holding as hostages for almost a week after a visit by a senior city official, witnesses said on Saturday.

Villagers in Dong Tam, 40km from the centre of Hanoi, seized 38 officials, including police officers, last weekend after four people were arrested in retaliation for protests staged during the escalating land dispute.

Fifteen of the officials were released on Monday and another three escaped, while authorities also released the detained protesters.

Villagers held more than a dozen police and officials hostage as well as sealed off their village to prevent police and outsiders from entering during a land dispute. Photo: EPA

Dong Tam villagers say they have received insufficient compensation by authorities who took over residential land for a telecommunications project.

The release of the final 20 officials came after a visit to the village earlier on Saturday by Hanoi’s People’s Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung, who spoke with villagers and listened to their complaints.

Hanoi People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Duc Chung. Photo: EPA