Writers in Prison Committee

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY (10 DECEMBER)

Vietnam: The Case of Pham Hong Son

Summary: Long sentences are being imposed on cyber-dissidents in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The Writers in Prison Committee is particularly alarmed at the five-year prison term handed down in 2003 to the writer and doctor Pham Hong Son for his online writing and publishing activities. Recent poor reports of his health have given rise to particularly urgent concern on his behalf.

Country Background

While only 3% of the population of Vietnam has Internet access, the figure is rising fast, and broadband connections were established in 2003. Simultaneously the Communist Party has invested heavily in surveillance technology, and even announced its intention to create a specialist unit within the police force to track down "cyber-criminals". Six of the country's ISPs are state-owned.

Cyber cafés receive instructions from the authorities stating that it is the responsibility of the owners to report any “illegal” activities on the part of their customers, such as using the net to spread “anti-government” propaganda. The instructions were part of a general crackdown on unfettered use of the Internet over the last two years. Servers with sites displaying “depraved” or “reactionary” content have been arbitrarily closed down. The popular Hanoi-based ttvonline.com was a case in point.

This new trend dashes expectations of improvements in Vietnam. When the conservative Nong Duc Manh, was replaced by the more progressive Le Kha Phieu as Communist Party General Secretary in April 2001, promises of reform and promotion of democratic freedoms were announced. However, Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF) calculates that since 2002 at least seven cyber-dissidents have been arrested. Two were arrested while active in cyber cafés. Many of them were accused of "spying" and all were given heavy sentences.

The arrest of Dr. Pham Hong Son

Dr. Pham Hong Son is one of Vietnam's most prominent jailed cyber-dissidents. He was arrested from his Hanoi home on 27 March 2002, a few weeks after translating into Vietnamese an article called "What is Democracy" which he downloaded from the local U.S. embassy web-site. He apparently forwarded his translation to several friends and to certain senior Communist Party officials. Up until his arrest, Pham had been in his own right a prolific online writer of articles about democracy and human rights.

It is reported that the authorities confiscated a computer he had been using and scrutinised numerous emails he had been receiving from overseas. He was held for fifteen months without trial in a Hanoi detention centre.

The trial of Pham Hong Son

On 18 June, 2003, Pham was convicted by the Hanoi People's Court to 13 years in prison and three years' house arrest for alleged "spying". Diplomats who requested permission to attend the trial were refused entry. His wife was also barred from the courtroom other than when she was briefly called in to testify. The news agency Reuters reported that the pavements outside the courts were barricaded and that police were posted to turn away foreign journalists and others attempting to attend the hearing.

Pham was sentenced under article 80 of Vietnam's Penal Code for communicating with "political opportunists" in Vietnam and abroad. His indictment claims that he "became a follower of the action plan to take advantage of freedom and democracy to advocate pluralism and a multiparty system in order to oppose the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." It adds that he collected "materials with content denigrating and distorting the policy of the Party and the State" for distribution "to exile reactionary person for them to falsely accuse the State of violating human rights." Amnesty International concluded that "Pham has not advocated violence or the overthrow of the Vietnamese government, neither has he passed on state secrets". The sentence was reduced on appeal the following August to five years' imprisonment and three years' house arrest.

Pham Hong Son: from doctor to dissident

Aged 36, Pham Hong Son is a medical doctor by training, graduating from Hanoi Medical University in 1992. In 1997 he joined the pharmaceutical industry, and went on to become marketing executive of Tradewind Asia Pharmaceuticals. However, in 2001, he dedicated himself to his pro-reformist activities. He wrote and translated articles arguing for a peaceful transition of Vietnam towards democracy and a multi-party system. He posted these on various web-sites, many of them based abroad.

Pham is married with two sons, aged eight and six. In 2003, he was the recipient of a Hellman/Hammett award, given annually to persecuted writers.

Recent developments

The Writers in Prison Committee has become extremely concerned about Pham's health and safety [See Ran Update #2 to 37/03]. It has received reports that he urgently requires an operation, and yet continues to be held in harsh prison conditions. His wife, whose last known visit was in August 2004, said she found him weak, suffering from an inguinal hernia. She feared that were he not treated quickly, there might be fatal complications. The following month, Pham was removed from B14 Labour Camp just outside Hanoi to Yen Dinh Labour Camp in Thanh Hoa province, 280 kilometres south of Hanoi. His wife and children went there to visit him, but were not allowed to see him. There is consequently grave concern on his behalf.

Appeals to the Authorities

The Writers in Prison Committee calls on the Vietnamese authorities to release Pham Hong Son from detention and quash the sentence against him. It believes Pham's online activities were in accordance with his internationally-recognised right to freedom of expression and in no way constituted a "crime". It is concerned over reports that his health has deteriorated in prison and urges that he be given all necessary medical attention. Letters on his behalf can be sent to:

His Excellency Tran Duc Luong
President, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
C/0 Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hanoi
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam

See also Recommended Actions for further action on Pham's behalf.

Last updated: December 6, 2004