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 1. Name: Le Chi Quang
Profession: Attorney and dissident writer
Date of birth: 1970
Date of arrest: 21 February 2002
Sentence: Four years' imprisonment and
three years' house arrest
Expires: February 2009
Details of arrest: Arrested on 21 February 2002 at an Internet
Café. Charged with "communicating with overseas elements" via the
Internet for an essay 'Beware of Imperialist China' he wrote in October 2001
which reportedly first disclosed numerous details in the land and sea border
treaties which were signed in 1999 and 2000 respectively. He has been an
outspoken critic of the border agreements.
Details of trial: In August 2002 officials
reportedly informed Quang's mother that her son would soon be tried under
Article 88 of the Criminal Code, which bans the distribution of information
that opposes the government. His trial was scheduled for 28 October 2002 but was postponed until
further notice on the grounds that the judges 'needed more time to prepare.'
His trial finally took place on 8
November 2002 in a closed court, with only his family allowed to
attend. His lawyer was forbidden from presenting a case in his defence.
Details of sentence: Four years'
imprisonment and three years' house arrest for the 'dissemination of
propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam' under Article 88 of the
Vietnamese Criminal Code.
Place of detention: Sao Do prison in Nam
Ha, Phu Ly Province on 20 December 2002.
Mother allowed to visit.
Health: Said to be in poor health,
suffering from a serious kidney problem. According to reports of 19 November 2002 Le Chi Quang is
at risk of death if he continues to be denied the appropriate medical
treatment.
Other: Recipient of the Hellman/Hammett
Award 2002.
Honorary member: Canadian PEN, PEN USA
West.
Contact details: You may write to Le Chi
Quang at Trai B14 Labour camp, Ha Dong province, ViêtNam. His mother's
address is: Mrs Nguyen thi Kim Chung, 22 Trung Liet, Dong Da, Hanoi,
Vietnam.
(Photograph courtesy of CPJ)
 2.
Name: Bui Minh Quoc
Date of arrest: 12 January 2002
Profession: Journalist and dissident
Details of arrest: Detained on 8 January 2002 at the Thanh Tri
train station, Hanoi, where he
had gone for a meeting with a group of dissidents. He was questioned by
police for three days, who also confiscated documents deemed by the
authorities to be "reactionary". Placed under formal house arrest
in Dalat, southern Vietnam,
on 12 January 2002 on
charges of "possessing anti-government literature", including his
own writings. It is thought that his arrest may be connected to a recent
investigation he led concerning territorial concessions granted to Beijing
by the Hanoi government in the
northern regions of Vietnam
bordering with China.
Bui Minh Quoc had spent over a month in provinces in north
Vietnam collecting testimonies. Under the
terms of his house arrest he is forbidden from leaving his neighbourhood and
cannot meet with anyone without official authorization. His telephone line
has been cut, his home is under police guard and his family members are also
under surveillance.
Previous political imprisonment/problems: Bui
Minh Quoc was previously placed under house arrest from April 1997-December
1999 for campaigning for greater press freedom.
Honorary member: Canadian PEN
(Photograph courtesy of FVA)
3. Name: Tran Van
Khue (photo not available)
Profession: Writer and scholar
Details of arrest: Detained on or around
10 March 2002 following a police search of his home. His detention is
believed to be linked to an open letter Tran Khue sent to Chinese President
Jiang Zemin during Jiang's visit to Vietnam
in February 2002. The letter, which was distributed over the Internet,
protested recent border accords between the two countries. On 8 March 2002 seven police officers
reportedly searched Tran Khue's home in Ho Chi Minh City
and confiscated his computer equipment and several documents. On 10 March 2002, Tran Khue sent a
message via mobile phone to a friend indicating he was in danger. Since then
all means of communication with him have been cut, and there is serious
concern for his safety.
Place of detention: Tran Van Khue is
currently thought to be under house arrest (October 2002). He has been under
tight surveillance since September 2001, when he and other dissidents tried
to register the 'National Association to Fight Corruption'.
Professional details: Former professor of Vietnamese and Chinese literature
and a prolific writer. Founded the Centre for South-East Asian Culture in
1996.
Other: Recipient of the Hellman/Hammett
Award 2002.
 4.
Name: Nguyen Dinh Huy
Date of birth: 2 January 1932
Profession: Former newspaper editor and
leading figure in pro-democracy organisation, Movement for National Unity and
Building Democracy.
Date of arrest: 17 November 1993
Sentence: 15 years in prison
Expires: 16 November 2008
Details of arrest: Detained around 17
November 1993 for planning an 'illegal' meeting. The meeting, entitled an
'international conference for development in Vietnam',
was due to have been held on 27
November 1993 with guests from US. Was arrested a week after US
Secretary of State's visit in August 1993.
Details of trial: Tried, and sentenced to
15 years in prison on 11/12 August 1995.
Health concerns: Reported by his wife in
November 1997 to be in poor health and suffering from Parkinsons' disease,
exacerbated by daily forced labour in the fields. In January 1999 Huy's wife
reported his health to be fair.
Previous political imprisonment/problems: Nguyen
was held for 17 years in re-education camp and founded the Movement six
months after his release in 1992. Was activist in Dai Viet party before 1975.
Place of detention: Z30A labour camp, Xuan
Loc, Dong Nai province.
Other details: Recipient of 1997
Hellmann/Hammett award for free expression.
Honorary member of: Polish, English, Perth,
Suisse Romande, Slovak and French PEN.
Contact details: You may write to Nguyen
Dinh Huy at Trai Xuân Lôc (Labour camp), Z 30A - K 3 Hàm Tân, Thuân
Hai Province, Vietnam.
(Photo courtesy of RSF)
 5.
Name: Nguyen Xuan Tu (pen-name: Ha
Si Phu )
Profession: Biologist, dissident and
writer
Date of arrest: 9 February 2001
Details of arrest: Placed under house
arrest for "making contact with reactionaries living abroad to sabotage Vietnam
and demanding the overthrow of the socialist regime and the leadership of the
Communist Party". The house arrest order was made amid a clampdown on
dissidents following ethnic unrest in the central and southern highlands. In
November 2001 he was reported to be held in total isolation in his Dalat
home, with all mail censored and no telephone communication allowed. As of
August 2002, the situation is reportedly unchanged.
Health concerns: Said to be in poor health
Professional details: Former vice-director
of the Vietnamese Institute of Science and a member of a group of
intellectual dissidents in Dalat. Also author of several critiques of the
Communist system.
Previous political imprisonment/problems: Ha
Si Phu had been under effective house arrest since 12 May 2000, when he became the subject of a
police inquiry for treason. He was suspected of being involved in the
drafting of an open letter appealing for democracy being prepared by a group
of intellectual dissidents, but was never formally charged. On 4 January 2001 the investigation was
suspended as a result of his "sincere attitude" and "appeal
for clemency", and the house arrest order lifted. Ha Si Phu was also
previously arrested in December 1995 and charged with "revealing state
secrets" for being in possession of a letter from then-Prime Minister Vo
Van Kiet to the Politburo calling for political and economic reforms. Ha was
detained without trial until August 1996, when he was sentenced to one year
in prison and was a PEN main case. After his release in 1997 he has been
subject to constant harassment and surveillance.
Honorary member of: Canadian and Slovak
PEN.
(Photo courtesy of FVA)
 6.
Name: Nguyen Vu Binh
Date of birth: 1969
Profession: Writer and leading member of
the Democracy Club for Vietnam
Date of arrest: 21 July 2002, re-arrested
25 September 2002
Sentence: Not yet sentenced
Details of arrest: Arrested by police on
21 July 2002 at his home in Hanoi following a search of his home and seizure
of books and other materials. He was allegedly held in solitary confinement
until mid-August before being put under house arrest and close surveillance
by the police, to whom he had to report daily.
Background to arrest: On 16 July 2002 Binh and 16 other
writers, relatives of detainees and retired government officials wrote an
open letter to the government calling for political reform and the release of
political prisoners. His re-arrest on 25 September is thought to be linked to
the online publication of one of his critical essays, 'Some Thoughts on the
China-Vietnam Border Agreement.'
Professional details: Binh is a former
journalist who worked for 10 years for Tap Chi Cong (Journal of Communism),
the official publication of the Communist Party of Vietnam. In January 2001
he left his post to form the independent Liberal Democratic Party. He has
since written several articles calling for political reform and criticising
government policy. He was briefly detained in September 2001. He had been
under increased surveillance since April 2002.
Place of Detention: Thought to be held in
Prison B14, Thanh Tri.
Other: Recipient of the Hellman/Hammett
Award 2002
(Photo courtesy of the Democracy Club of Vietnam)
 7.
Name: Pham Hong Son
Date of birth: 1967
Profession: Medical doctor and dissident
writer
Date of arrest: 27 March 2002
Details of arrest: Arrested on charges of
espionage after police searched his home, confiscated his computer and
several documents and subjected him to four days' interrogation. Prior to
arrest, Pham had reportedly written several essays promoting democracy and
human rights, all of which had been published on Vietnamese-language
web-sites. According to an official statement, his work was considered to be
"anti-state and anti-Vietnam Communist Party". Supporters say that
he is accused for an article entitled "What is Democracy" published
on the website of the US
embassy in Vietnam
that Pham translated into Vietnamese. Information of October 2002 states that
Pham's sentence remains unknown. Writers in Prison
Committee is seeking details.
Place of detention: Prison B14, Thanh
Liet Village,
Thanh Tri District, Hanoi.
Prison conditions: Said to be denied the
right to see his wife and two sons.
(Photo courtesy of CPJ)
 8.
Name: Le Dinh Nhan (religious name:
Thich HUYEN Quang )
Date of birth: 1917
Profession: Acting Head of the Institute
For The Propagation Of The Dharma, Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV),
An Quang Pagoda (Saigon).
Date of arrest: 29 December 1994
Details of arrest: Arrested for publishing
an open letter criticising government policy on freedom of speech and
religious expression. Held under "temple arrest" until around
mid-1995 when moved to an isolated area in Quangai. He is said to be held
incommunicado in a house surrounded by guards.
Professional details: Author of renowned
books on Buddhism and Oriental philosophy for the last thirty years. Said to
be one of the most respected religious leaders of the Vietnamese Buddhists
and people.
Health concerns: Sources indicate that his
life has been in great danger due to poor health and lack of medical
treatment. Reported in August 1999 to be in desperate need of medical care.
According to a message circulated on the occasion of the Lunar New Year of
the Goat, 22 January 2003,
Thich Huyen Quang is reportedly in very poor health as a result of his
detention in isolation without adequate medical care and his harassment by
the Security Police.
Previous political imprisonment/problems: Had
been detained under house arrest since 1982 for alleged "anti-government
activities". Thought to relate to his public appeals for religious
freedom and official recognition of the UBCV.
Other: UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detentions deemed the imprisonment as "arbitrary" and in denial of
the UN Declaration on Human Rights in its decision 17 May 2001. In February 2003 European
Foreign Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten expressed concern about the
continued detention of Thich Huyen Quang and requested that EC delegates be
permitted to visit him.
Honorary Member of: English, French,
Danish, Slovak and Sydney PEN.
(Photo courtesy of WIPC)
 9. Name: Nguyen Van Ly
Date of birth: 1946
Profession: Priest, scholar and essayist
Date of arrest: 17 May 2001
Sentence: 15 years' imprisonment and five
years' probationary detention
Expires: 16 May 2014
Details of arrest: Detained for publishing
a written testimony 'Violations of Human Rights in Vietnam'
on the internet. Also wrote to a United States
Congressional committee in March 2001 urging the lawmakers not to ratify a
bilateral trade agreement until Hanoi
eased restrictions on religious freedoms.
Details of trial: Convicted on 19 October 2001 at Hue People's
Court on charges of undermining national unity and violating a previous house
arrest order.
Professional details: Former secretary to
the Bishop of Hue and professor
at the Christian Seminary in Hue.
Author of a 600-page book of essays Nguyet Bieu An Truyen, which was
published in the U.S.A in 2001 and reportedly includes poetry - including
prison writings - and short stories.
Place of detention: Ba Sao Nam Ha Labour
Camp, Phu Ly District, Ha Nam Province.
Previous imprisonment/political problems:
Previously detained in labour camps from 1977-1978 and from 1983-1992 for
peacefully exercising his right to free expression and freedom of religion.
Since his release he has been kept under strict police surveillance.
Honorary Member: Slovak PEN
Contact details: You may write to Nguyen
Van Ly at Ba Sao Nam Ha Labour Camp, Phu Ly District, Ha
Nam Province, Vietnam.
(Photo courtesy of Amnesty USA)
 10. Name: Dang Phuc Tue (religious name: Thich
Quang Do )
Date of birth: 1928
Profession: Buddhist monk, writer,
scholar, and Secretary General of the outlawed Institute For The Propagation
Of The Dharma, United Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV).
Date of arrest: 1 June 2001
Sentence: 2 years, 3 months' house arrest
Expires: September 2003
Details of arrest: Police raided his
monastery in Ho Chi Minh City on 31 May 2001 and issued a house
arrest order of twenty-seven months dated from 1 June 2001. He was detained because he announced his
intent to travel to escort Thich Huyen Quang to Ho Chi
Minh City for medical treatment.
Place of detention: Thanh Minh Zen
monastery, Ho Chi Minh city.
Health concerns: Suffers from diabetes and
high blood pressure. Not allowed to leave the monastery to receive medical
treatment.
Previous political imprisonment/problems: Thich
Quang Do has spent most of the last twenty years in detention or under
residential surveillance because of his campaign for religious freedom and
free expression. Imprisoned from April 1972-December 1978. From 1982-1992 he
was placed under house arrest in Thai Binh province. Re-arrested in 1992 for
protesting the ban of the UBCV. On 4
January 1994 he was arrested again for writing a petition to the
Vietnamese Communist Party leaders, and sentenced to five years'
imprisonment. Released on 31 August
1998, and placed under residential surveillance in Thanh Minh Zen
monastery, Ho Chi Minh City.
Other: On 21 September 2001, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention announced Thich Quang Do's house arrest imprisonment as being in
contravention of the UN Declaration on Human Rights. Nominated for the Nobel
Peace Prize. Recipient of the Hellman/Hammett Award 2002. In February 2003
European Foreign Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten expressed concern about
the continued detention of Thich Quang Do and requested that EC delegates be
permitted to visit him.
(Photo courtesy of WIPC)
Please
feel free to write to the writers where an address is indicated. As Lunar New
Year has just passed it is a particularly appropriate time to send messages
of goodwill.
If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to
contact the Freedom to Write Committee by e-mailing ftw@pen.org.
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The
Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is calling on PEN Members
and Friends of PEN worldwide to focus on the plight of their colleagues in