This is a report on the violent government attack against Dong Tam village (near Hanoi, Vietnam) on January 9, 2020. The attack was the culmination of a long-running land dispute and resulted in the death of the village leader, three police officers, and the arrest of more than two dozen villagers.
On September 7, 2020, these villagers were brought to preliminary trial in Hanoi, where they were handed two death sentences, one life sentence, and more than 80 years of prison.
This report reaches the conclusion that this event is the largest peacetime land dispute in Vietnam in terms of troop deployment, public awareness, and deaths; it also highlights concerns about police brutality, abuse of power, and the contradictory concept of the “people’s ownership of land” in Vietnam.