Plainclothes police threatened physical violence, say those that tried to attend
Friends and relatives of Dang Thi Kim Lieng said they attended her funeral today in the presence of security officials following her self-immolation in protest at her Christian blogger daughter’s detention. Father Anthony Le Ngoc Thanh, head of the Vietnamese Redemptorist Networks, said officials threatened to arrest all those who attended the ceremony in the southern city of Bac Lieu following Lieng’s death on Monday. “We offered incense in front of Lieng’s coffin while security officials videoed and took our photos,” he said. Blogger Dan Lam Bao reported that 200 officials surrounded the funeral, tried to prevent people from walking to the cemetery and separated visitors from Lieng’s family. Another blogger who visited Lieng’s family the day she died, Nguyen Hoang Vi, said she was followed by plainclothes police who threatened to physically attack her. Eventually, the group she was with were prevented from attending, she added. Sources said Lieng’s imprisoned blogger daughter Ta Phong Tan, who is due to face trial for anti-government activities on August 7, was not permitted to attend and remained in detention following her arrest in September. Related reports US 'deeply concerned' at self-immolationChristian activist's mother sets herself ablaze
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