DIGITAL FREEDOM NETWORK: Human rights and cyber-rights news
Vietnamese dissident Dr. Pham Hong Son receives harsh sentence by Shravanti Reddy, Digital Freedom Network URL: www.dfn.org/news/vietnam/son-sentenced.htm
(June 19, 2003) Vietnam dissident Dr. Pham Hong Son, a medical doctor who holds an MBA, received a 13-year sentence to be followed by three years of house arrest yesterday in a trial that lasted less than a day and took place in the Hanoi People's Court.
"The spy crime is a fabrication," declared Tran Hoang Le, co-founder of the Committee to Free Political Prisoners in Vietnam in an interview with the Digital Freedom Network. "The sentence is outrageous and I am deeply saddened and disappointed." Dr. Pham Hong Son (above) received a 13-year sentence for posting pro-democracy documents on the Internet. (Photo courtesy of the Democracy Club for Vietnam)
Arrested on March 27, 2002 for translating and publishing pro-democracy documents on the Internet, Son has remained detained in Prison B14 since that time, separated from his wife and two children. He has claimed that he is innocent of all charges.
According to HRW, an April 10 indictment charged Son with spying under article 80 of the Vietnam Penal Code "because he took the initiative to communicate by telephone and e-mail with political opportunists in Vietnam and abroad."
Son's use of e-mail was particularly noted throughout the indictment. He was accused of using it to "translate and send anti-party and anti-government documents to colleagues abroad" and "that he had received emails from dissidents abroad" that discussed changing the current regime.
"These are people that the Hanoi Government considers reactionary forces," stated Tran. In addition to being accused of writing distorted articles that criticized high ranking-officers in the Communist party and the government on political issues, Son was arrested for translating an article entitled "What is Democracy" that was on the US Embassy Web site into Vietnamese. He was also charged for writing "Some of good signals for democracy in Viet Nam", a document that "merely promoted his democratic ideas to support pluralism, democracy and a multi-party political system."
In an open letter dated May 30, the Committee to Free Political Prisoners in Vietnam pointed out that Article 69 of the Vietnamese constitution "recognizes the right of freedom of _expression and opinions." Vietnam is also a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, requiring them to protect the right to be free from arbitrary arrest and detention and the right to freedom of _expression.
Formed last year and based in Vietnam, the Committee to Free Political Prisoners in Vietnam's mission is to campaign for the freedom of detained Vietnamese dissidents such as Son. They have been active in protesting the arrest and sentencing of fellow cyber-dissidents Le Chi Quang and Nguyen Khac Toan who are currently serving four and 12-year sentences, respectively. "The Committee to Free Political Prisoners in Vietnam will do its best to campaign for his freedom," claimed Tran.
The Trial
"This was not a fair trial," clarified Tran. "From the beginning, legal matters proceeded behind closed doors."
According to Tran, there were no lawyers present in court because Son had decided to defend himself. Ms. Vu Thuy Ha, Son's wife, was able to attend the trial, but only as a testifying witness and not as the defendant's wife. "This was not a fair trial. From the beginning, legal matters proceeded behind closed doors."
- Tran Hoang Le, co-founder of the Committee to Free Political Prisoners in Vietnam
"By using this trick, the authorities have denied Mrs. Vu Thuy Ha her right to see her husband," explained Tran. " While the court questioned Mrs. Vu, security officers brought Dr. Son out of the courtroom to prevent her from having contact with her husband." Since his arrest over a year ago, the government has denied Vu's petitions to visit her husband.
While there were no official protests, many people were waiting outside the courtroom including Son's relatives and friends, reporters, and officials from the US, Canadian and Australian embassies.
According to Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF), police surrounded the court preventing journalists from entering. Diplomats from the US, Canada, Australia, and several EU countries were also barred from attending the trial although they had registered requests to attend.
While there is great disappointment about the outcome of the trial, it seems little can be done to obtain Son's release without active pressure from within and outside the country.
"Although he could file for a second trial, there is not much of a chance to repeal the decision since the legal system in Vietnam is not based on the Constitution but rather on individual and arbitrary reasons," said Tran. According to a Reuters report, he has fifteen days to appeal the decision.
Getting Son released
Unfortunately, Tran described Son's case as a "typical situation." With the press under the control of the government, "people cannot raise their voices freely and news is censored and printed under the direction of the Communist Party," stated Tran.
"I think the world has to put more pressure on Hanoi," concluded Tran. "It is time for the international community and free governments to stop giving financial aid to support the dictatorial regime."
International human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and Reporters without Borders have all been active in protesting on behalf of Son.
RSF also plans to alert international organizations--of which Vietnam is a member--about the government's repressive tactics. One place were they plan to pursue such an agenda is with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a ten-member body whose fundamental goal is to bring cooperative peace and shared prosperity to the region.
According to Reuters, in a statement released today by the US Embassy in Hanoi, the US State Department "strongly condemned the harsh sentence given to Pham Hong Son for merely expressing his views on the Internet." However, at a press briefing held today, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, Phan Thuy Thanh, dismissed allegations that Vietnam restricts the Internet. "The Vietnamese government is very supportive of the dissemination of the Internet," said Thanh, as reported by Reuters.
What you can do
You can Fax a letter of protest to any or all of the following individuals:
His Excellency Tran Duc Luong
President, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hanoi, Vietnam
Fax: 011-84-4-823-1872
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai
Office of the Prime Minister
Hoang Hoa Tham
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Ambassador to the U.S., Nguyen Tam Chien
1233 20th Street N.W., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20036
(Fax: 202-861-0917)
(A sample letter can be found on the Committee to Protect Journalists Web site.)
Strangely, Tran noted that according to the Supreme People's Inspectorate's allegations the Hanoi Government has not mentioned a single word regarding "What is Democracy", the article that Son translated from the US embassy Web site. "I just wonder if there any pressure from the US Government on this matter?" remarked Tran.
For Tran, one beneficial result of such harsh sentences is that more and more people have arrived at the conclusion that the Communist government's rule is based on deception. The sentencing of Son and other political prisoners such as Le Chi Quang and Nguyen Khac Toan has made "people extremely offended and ashamed."
In an open letter dated May 30, the Committee to Free Political Prisoners in Vietnam stated that they were "ashamed of being citizens in a country where the so-called title, 'The Socialist Republic of Vietnam - Independence, Freedom, Happiness,' is written on every official letter but is in contradiction to what it refers to."
"I believe that when people overcome their fear they will stand up," concluded Tran. "It is time for us to have actions rather than protests to immediately save Vietnamese political prisoners."
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