Amnesty International Report 1994 - Vietnam

At least 60 prisoners of conscience and possible prisoners of conscience remained held throughout 1993. At least 13 prisoners of conscience were released, along with several other political prisoners who had been held without trial. At least nine political arrests were reported. Some political trials held during the year appeared to fall short of international fair trial standards. Eight prisoners were reported to have been sentenced to death but no executions were recorded. In January the Criminal Code was amended to provide for the imposition of the death penalty on people convicted of smuggling or illegally transporting goods or currency across Viet Nam's border. At least 13 prisoners of conscience were released, along with several other political prisoners who had been held without trial. Among the prisoners of conscience released were Dominic Tran Dinh Tu, the 87-year-old founder of the Catholic Congregation of the Mother Coredemptrix; Tran Mai, Dinh Thien Tu and Tran Dinh Ai, all Protestant pastors; Thich Duc Nhuan, a Buddhist monk (see Amnesty International Report 1986); and Stephen Chan Tin, a Catholic priest who had been under house arrest since 1990. Also released was Nguyen Si Binh, a nuclear engineer and businessman with US citizenship, who was a possible prisoner of conscience (see Amnesty International Report 1993). However, more than 60 prisoners of conscience and possible prisoners of conscience known to Amnesty International remained in prison throughout 1993. The prisoners of conscience included Ngo Van An, a former teacher; Pham Duc Kham, a former army officer of the Republic of Viet Nam; Doan Thanh Liem, a lawyer; and Nguyen Van De, a Catholic priest. Dr Nguyen Dan Que, also a prisoner of conscience, was allegedly placed in solitary confinement in a camp in Dong Nai province. In April the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled that the detention of Nguyen Dan Que was arbitrary and in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Pham Hong Tho, Vo Van Pham and Nguyen Xuan De, all arrested in 1991, were convicted in May of "activities aiming to overthrow the people's government". However, it appeared that the real reason for their imprisonment was their advocacy of a multi-party political system and that they were prisoners of conscience. The People's Supreme Appellate Court of Danang confirmed their conviction and sentences of 13, 12 and six years' imprisonment respectively. It stated that they were guilty of "mobilizing propaganda to foment suspicion, eroding the confidence of the people in the Communist Party and the government". At least nine Buddhist monks and lay Buddhists were arrested in Hue city and at the Son Linh pagoda near Vung Tau City in mid-1993, after public demonstrations in Hue city in May. Thich Tri Tuu, who was arrested in June, was charged with "disrupting security and public order" and sentenced to four years' imprisonment in November. Like the others, he belonged to the Unified Buddhist Church, which opposes the government-sponsored Viet Nam Buddhist Church, and was a follower of Thich Huyen Quang, a prisoner of conscience under house arrest since 1982 (see previous Amnesty International Reports). All nine were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six months to four years and appeared to be prisoners of conscience. In January it was reported that Pham Cong Canh and three others had been tried and sentenced to imprisonment in November 1992 for producing a film in violation of the government's policies and regulations. They appeared to be prisoners of conscience. Several political prisoners were convicted after what appeared to be unfair trials. In March Doan Viet Hoat, an academic and prisoner of conscience, was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment by the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City after being convicted of activities allegedly aimed at "overthrowing the government" (see Amnesty International Report 1993). He was alleged to belong to an unauthorized organization formed in 1989 called Dien Dan Tu Do (Freedom Forum), to have published an unlicensed newsletter containing articles written abroad which were critical of the Vietnamese Government, and to have himself sent articles abroad for publication. Ten editions of the newsletter were said to have been issued by the time that Doan Viet Hoat was arrested in November 1990. In May 1992 Saigon Giai Phong, the official paper of the Ho Chi Minh City Committee of the Communist Party, publicly denounced him as the leader of a "reactionary group" and accused him of unlawful acts intended to overthrow the government. At his trial in March, which lasted less than two days, the presiding judge reportedly demonstrated a clear bias against the accused and acted in an intimidatory manner. Doan Viet Hoat was not allowed to choose his own defence lawyer. In April 1993 the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled that the detention of Doan Viet Hoat was arbitrary and in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ICCPR, to which Viet Nam is a state party. In July Doan Viet Hoat's sentence was reduced on appeal to 15 years' imprisonment by the Supreme Court. Six political prisoners convicted in May for setting off home-made bombs were allegedly not allowed to choose their own defence lawyers, in breach of international standards of fair trial. They included Tran Manh Quynh, a former Vietnamese army officer with US citizenship, who was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment, and Le Thien Quang, another former army officer, who was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. Eight people were reported to have been sentenced to death after being convicted of offences including smuggling, murder, drug-trafficking, arms theft and fraud. They included Wong Chi Shing, a Hong Kong resident and British national convicted of drug smuggling in May, and Tran Ngoc Minh, who was convicted of murder. Both were sentenced by the Supreme People's Court, from which there is no right of appeal to a higher tribunal, although prisoners under sentence of death may apply to the President for clemency. Wong Shi Ching's application for clemency was rejected in November. However, no prisoners were known to have been executed in 1993. Amnesty International appealed for the release of prisoners of conscience, for the fair trial or release of other political prisoners and for the commutation of all death sentences. Amnesty International expressed concern to the government about the arrests of Buddhist monks and others and indicated to the authorities its wish to send a delegation to Viet Nam to discuss human rights. In December an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the government was considering Amnesty International's initiatives. In October Amnesty International published a report, Socialist Republic of Viet Nam: Continuing concerns, which reiterated its concerns about the imprisonment of prisoners of conscience, detention without trial, unfair political trials and the death penalty.