Amnesty International Report 1995 - Viet Nam

At least 60 prisoners of conscience and possible prisoners of conscience remained imprisoned in 1994, and there were more than 10 new arrests. Several political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, were released. A trial of a political prisoner appeared to fall short of international fair trial standards. Eight death sentences were imposed but no executions were reported. The government continued its policy of economic liberalization throughout the year, and the lifting of the trade embargo by the USA in February was welcomed by the authorities. The press and broadcast media remained under state control, and freedom of worship was limited to those groups approved by the government. Members of a Buddhist religious group were subjected to surveillance and arrest by the authorities in the latter half of the year. At least 60 prisoners of conscience and possible prisoners of conscience remained in prison throughout 1994, including Thich Han Duc, a Buddhist monk; Tran Thang Thuc, a former military doctor; Doan Viet Hoat, an academic; and Nguyen Dan Que, a doctor (see Amnesty International Report 1994). Prisoners of conscience Pham Hong Tho, Vo Van Pham and Nguyen Xuan De, who were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment in May 1993 for alleged "activities aiming to overthrow the people's government", remained in detention in 1994. Seven Roman Catholic priests also remained imprisoned. Paul Nguyen Chau Dat was arrested in 1987 along with 22 other members of the Congregation of the Mother Co-Redemptrix and charged with "undermining the policy of unity and disruption of public security". He was detained in a "re-education" camp in Xuan Loc district, Dong Nai province. During the second half of the year, the authorities arrested at least nine members of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam (UBCV). The UBCV has refused to join the official Viet Nam Buddhist Church established with government approval in 1981. Surveillance of followers of the UBCV increased after the suicide by self-immolation in May of UBCV monk Thich Hue Thau in southern Vinh Long province, allegedly in protest against government restrictions on religious freedom and against high taxes imposed on the peasants in the Mekong Delta. In August Thich Giac Nguyen was briefly detained after holding a three-day demonstration in front of the Ho Chi Minh City town hall. The authorities denied reports that 100 people were detained with him. Later the same month he was arrested at his temple in Ho Chi Minh City, allegedly for "dissident acts". He was apparently returned to his home province by the authorities, and it was unclear whether he had been released by the end of the year. In November, six members of the UBCV involved in a UBCV flood relief mission were arrested, allegedly because the mission did not have authorization from the authorities. Those detained included Thich Long Tri, a monk. They appeared to be prisoners of conscience. There were at least two further arrests in Hue in November during disturbances following the opening of a new Buddhist school of the official Viet Nam Buddhist Church. The UBCV Supreme Patriarch, Thich Huyen Quang, a prisoner of conscience under house arrest in his pagoda in Quang Ngai province since 1982, went on hunger-strike in December to protest against the arrests of members of his church. He was taken into custody on 29 December, then moved to another pagoda where he remained at the end of the year. At least one other man was arrested for his peaceful political activities. Nguyen Ho, a former prisoner of conscience, aged 77, was rearrested in March. He was reported to have written an article critical of the Communist Party of Viet Nam. From 1990 to May 1993 he had been under house arrest for allegedly giving "unauthorized" interviews to foreign journalists. In October the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention visited Viet Nam to examine the legality of arrests, sentencing and detention. Unconfirmed reports stated that political prisoners at one prison camp visited by the delegation were prevented from meeting the UN group by the camp officials. At least eight political prisoners were released during the year, including three prisoners of conscience. Among them were Tran Vong Quoc, a former instructor in a military academy for the former Republic of (South) Viet Nam (RVN) during the Vietnam war; Quach Vinh Nien, a former lieutenant in the army of the RVN; and Nguyen Ngoc Anh, a Protestant pastor. Four other ethnic minority lay Protestants were reported to have been released during the year. A political prisoner was convicted after what appeared to be an unfair trial. In February the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court sentenced Pham Van Quang to 15 years' imprisonment on the charge of "rebellion". According to reports, he was alleged to have waved the flag of the former RVN and fired gunshots in the air to attract attention when Ho Chi Minh City was hosting an international marathon in December 1992. There were no international observers at Pham Van Quang's trial, and he would not have been allowed access to a defence lawyer of his choice. Eight people were reportedly sentenced to death after being convicted of offences including robbery, murder, destruction of national security projects, fraud and drug-trafficking. The death penalty may be applied for around 30 criminal offences. In August a Vietnamese court sentenced Le Thi Thu Ha, a police captain, to death for fraud. She reportedly confessed to lying to 41 people and two state companies in order to misappropriate gold and cash worth thousands of dollars in 1993. Nguyen Si Tuan was sentenced by the People's Court of Hanoi to death for heroin trafficking. However, no executions were reported in 1994. Throughout the year, Amnesty International called for the release of prisoners of conscience and expressed concern about unfair political trials. Amnesty International also wrote to the authorities in May asking for Doan Viet Hoat to be allowed regular access to his family (see Amnesty International Report 1994). In May Amnesty International published a report, Socialist Republic of Vietnam: Buddhist monks in detention, which expressed concern about the continued detention of members of the UBCV. Amnesty International also wrote to the government in November, requesting further information on the arrest of Buddhist monks and lay people from the UBCV. The authorities did not respond. In February Amnesty International sent a memorandum to the government outlining Amnesty International's human rights concerns in Viet Nam and asking permission for a delegation to visit the country. The memorandum focused on national security legislation and other legal concerns, the imprisonment of prisoners of conscience and possible prisoners of conscience, concerns about the fairness of trials of political prisoners and the death penalty. It also included specific recommendations to strengthen the protection of human rights in the country. The government did not respond by the end of the year but an Amnesty International delegate visited Viet Nam in September and met a government official to discuss the organization's request to send a delegation to the country in 1995.