‘100 policemen around my house’: Vietnamese dissident blogger tells of forced deportation

A dissident from Vietnam who said he was arrested at his home in Ho Chi Minh City and deported to France said he is determined to continue his pro-democracy blogging.

Pham Minh Hoang, a 61-year-old maths lecturer, recounted his arrest and deportation a few hours after his arrival in France. He said three police officers burst into his house on Friday and grabbed his arms when he refused to follow them while wearing only shorts, an undershirt and slippers.

“Once outside, I was horrified to see that there were not three, but 100 policemen in uniform and in plainclothes around my house and in the neighbouring streets,” said Hoang, who was a dual French-Vietnamese national before he was stripped of his Vietnamese citizenship last month.

After being detained in front of his wife, Hoang said he was driven to a detention centre two hours away, where he was kept for 24 hours and was visited by the Consul General of France. He said Vietnamese authorities forced him on a plane to Paris on Saturday night.

Hoang’s deportation came two weeks after he learned a presidential decree had revoked his Vietnamese citizenship.

The French foreign ministry confirmed that its Consul General assisted Hoang in Ho Chi Minh City. As a French citizen, he can settle in the country and enjoy freedom of speech, the ministry said.