HANOI, Vietnam (AP, Aug 21, 99) - A prominent dissident who was detained for more than two months this year says he went on two hunger strikes before he was released without charge.
Nguyen Thanh Giang, an internationally known geophysicist, also said in a seven-page letter faxed Friday to The Associated Press that his children have been punished for his activities by losing their jobs.
Giang was arrested March 4 in Hanoi for allegedly possessing anti-communist documents. He also had written articles on party corruption that were circulated on the Internet and published in newspapers put together by Vietnamese living in exile.
His arrest prompted international criticism. The State Department had called for his immediate release before he was freed in mid-May. Vietnam called Washington's criticism ``brazen interference'' in its internal affairs.
The arrest followed a number of articles in the government-run Vietnamese press warning about alleged threats from dissidents and ``hostile forces'' seeking to force unacceptable change.
It also came just a few months after several dissidents were released from prison as part of mass amnesties, sparking hopes that Vietnam might be loosening its policies.
While freedom of speech and religion are supposed to be guaranteed, the government imposes tight restrictions on religious groups, and national security laws are vague enough to cover a number of perceived offenses.
Human rights groups claim Vietnam holds at least 40 political and religious dissidents. The government claims it has none - only people who have broken the law.
Giang said in the fax that police searched his bookshelves and confiscated his two computers, a box of books and newspapers, and a photocopier before he was taken to a detention camp.
``I was so indignant that I went on a hunger strike'' that lasted six days, Giang said. He lost 11 pounds.
After asking for paper to write a confession, he instead wrote letters to government leaders that led to another six-day hunger strike when there was no response.
``I demanded them to free me or bring me to court,'' he said.
After Giang's release, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh said in a statement that Giang ``violated the laws of Vietnam.''
``After a process of investigation and consideration, the competent Vietnamese authorities see it possible to let him return home,'' she said.