New York Academy of Science
June 8, 2000
To: Prime Minister Phan Van Khai
Hoang Hoa Tham
Ha Noi , Socialist Republic of VIETNAM
Your Excellency:
I am writing to express the concern of the New York Academy of Sciences' Committee on Human Rights regarding the house arrest of biologist Ha Sy Phu on May 12, 2000. The police issued a written statement that he was to be placed under house arrest and that he would be tried for treason under Article 72 of the Vietnam Criminal Code, which carries a possible sentence ranging from a seven-year imprisonment to the death penalty. A condition of the house arrest is that Ha Sy Phu is to report to police headquarters in Dalat, Lam Dong Province daily for interrogation.
The arrest of Ha Sy Phu constitutes a serious violation of international human rights standards, including basic protections listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified by Vietnam on September 24, 1982).
We call on your government for the release of Ha Sy Phu, on the grounds that he was arrested solely for exercising his rights to freedom of expression.
I respectfully await your reponse to this matter of importance not only to our committee, but to the international scientific community as a whole.
The New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, nonprofit, global membership organization committed to advancing science, technology, and society worldwide. Established in 1817, the Academy is the oldest scientific organization in New York, and the third oldest in the nation. It is an international organization with nearly 40,000 members in more than 150 countries.
Sincerely,
Joseph L. Birman
Chairman, Committee on Human Rights of Scientists
Cc: Major General Le Minh Huong
Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam
Ambassador Le Van Bang
Ambassador Douglas B. Peterson
The Vietnamese Professional Society
4718 Meridian Ave., #261 - San Jose, CA 95118 - USA
Tel/Fax: (408) 277-7409 - Email: contact@hcgvn.vps.org - Web: www.vps.org
June 4, 2000
PRESS RELEASE
Re: Persecution of Mr. Ha Si Phu by the Hanoi Government
On April 28, 2000, security officials in Dalat city searched the home of Mr. Nguyen Xuan Tu (whose pen name is Ha Si Phu) and removed his personal computer as well as personal papers. Ha Si Phu was the victim of a similar search a year earlier. While finding no incriminating evidence in any of these searches, security officials returned to Ha Si Phu's home on May 12, 2000 to present two decisions dated May 10, 2000, signed by colonel Nguyen Van Do. The first decision, No. 02/QD, ordered Ha Si Phu not to leave his residential area and to report to the public security office each day for questioning. The second decision, No. 07/QD, charged Ha Si Phu with treason according to Article 72 of the Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This charge is defined as follows:
"A Vietnamese citizen collaborating with a foreign country to inflict harm against the nation's independence, sovereignty, unity, borders, armed forces, and the socialist regime and state will be penalized with a sentence of 12 to 20 years in prison, life in prison, or death. A guilty party in the case of mitigating circumstances will be sentenced to at least 7 to 15 years."
- Recognizing that the above actions of the Hanoi government violate the right of a citizen to think freely, which is the basic freedom of an individual,
- Recognizing that the seizure of a computer, a common piece of equipment used by intellectuals, violates the right of a citizen to engage in work,
- Recognizing that this is not the first time that intellectuals, professionals, and students in Vietnam have been persecuted and affirming that intellectuals, professionals and students can only harness their abilities and sharpen their intellectual talents in an environment respecting freedom of thought and freedom to exchange ideas,
The Vietnamese Professionals Society:
(1) Strongly denounces the actions of the Hanoi government against Mr. Ha Si Phu and demands that the above decisions be immediately and unconditionally withdrawn.
(2) Protests the notion that a personal computer, email, or the use of a printer in the home is against the law. Hanoi must immediately abolish laws treating the use of a printer as a form of illegal publishing.
(3) Calls on intellectuals, professionals, and students both inside and outside Vietnam to demand that freedom of thought of intellectuals, professionals, and students in Vietnam be respected.