PHR welcomes the release of Dr. Son and many other prisoners, but deplores the ongoing surveillance and travel restrictions they suffer. PHR calls for Dr. Son's immediate and unconditional release and appropriate medical treatment.

Background

Dr. Pham Hong Son, a 35-year old physician and businessman, was arrested on March 27, 2002, after translating an article entitled "What is Democracy?" that he had downloaded from the United States Embassy in Vietnam's website and sending it to friends and senior party officials. After a fifteen-month pre-trial detention period in a Hanoi detention center, Dr. Son was tried on June 18, 2003. He was charged with "spying" and sentenced to 13 years in prison followed by three years of house arrest. Upon appeal, Vietnam's Supreme Court reduced Dr. Son's sentence to five years in prison and three years of house arrest. Dr. Son's health is said to be declining and of grave concern. Amnesty International reported in August 2005 that Dr. Son has been coughing up blood and that he continues to suffer from an inguinal hernia. Reportedly, he is in need of an operation, but continues to be held in harsh prison conditions and denied necessary medical treatments.

Prior to his arrest and imprisonment, Dr. Son advocated on behalf of Vietnam's reform movement. He shared information about human rights and democracy that he found on the internet with friends, both in Vietnam and abroad, and with senior government officials. Dr. Son also wrote several articles on democracy that he also distributed among the general population and government officials. None of the articles that Dr. Son translated or wrote ever advocated violent actions, but rather, exercised his right to freedom of expression and association.

Reportedly, shortly before his arrest, members of the special police unit P4-A25 searched Dr. Son's house, confiscated his computer and personal papers, and interrogated him for several hours. The next day, Dr. Son was said to have gone to the police station in an attempt to reclaim his personal belongings. As a sign of protest, Dr. Son posted an open letter on the internet, protesting the search of his home and the confiscation of his personal belongings. On March 27, 2002, his family announced that he had 'disappeared.'

It was not until April 6, 2002 that the Security Investigations Unit finally informed Dr. Son's wife, Vy Thuy Ha, that her husband was under "temporary custody," because of his actions of "gathering and supplying information and documents for a foreign country to be used to oppose the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." In an open letter of complaint to the government in late June 2002, Vy Thuy Ha accused the government of violating Article 71 of the Vietnamese Constitution when they arrested her husband, since no arrest order from either the People's Court or the People's Investigative Court was provided. Human Rights Watch has expressed concern that Vietnamese authorities might also arrest Vy Thuy, who is reported to be under surveillance.

Dr. Son was charged with espionage by the Vietnamese government, under Article 80 of the Vietnam Criminal Code. The indictment against him details contacts that Dr. Son had with several dissidents in Vietnam and exiled Vietnamese overseas. The indictment justifies charging Dr. Son with "spying," because of his email contacts with "exile reactionary persons from abroad," from which he received financial assistance, and because he distributed information that "falsely accuse the State of violating human rights."

Dr. Son was held in incommunicado detention for 15 months before his June 2003 trial. The trial was closed to the general public, and excluded foreign diplomats who had sent formal requests to attend ahead of time, as well as international journalists. Reportedly, the trial only lasted two hours before the guilty verdict was handed down, along with the initial sentence of 13-years in prison followed by three years of house arrest. Dr. Son's legal representation was reported to be inadequate during the trial.

Following the trial, Dr. Son's wife reported that she was the only witness called by the prosecution and she was only allowed to answer "yes" or "no" in reply to two questions. She was then asked to leave the courtroom immediately. Upon a closed-door appeal in August 2003, Vietnam's Supreme Court reduced Dr. Son's sentence to five years imprisonment and three years of house arrest.

Dr. Pham Hong Son graduated from Hanoi Medical University in 1992 and then went on to pursue a MBA, before eventually becoming the marketing executive of Tradewind Asia Pharmaceuticals. In 2001, Dr. Son started participating in pro-reformist activities. Dr. Son wrote articles such as "Hopeful Signs for Democracy in Vietnam" and translated other pro-democracy articles, which he disseminated to his friends and senior government officials through emails and internet postings. In 2003, he was the recipient of a Hellman/Hammett award, annually awarded to persecuted writers.

Human Rights Violations

Dr. Son's fundamental right to freedom of expression and association, as guaranteed by the Vietnamese Constitution and the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) have been violated. Article 69 of the Vietnamese Constitution states:

"The citizen shall enjoy freedom of opinion and speech, freedom of press, the right to be informed and the right to assemble, for associations and hold demonstrations in accordance with the provisions of the law."

Vietnam ratified the ICCPR in 1982, which specifically guarantees the right to freedom of expression: "freedom to seek, receive, impart information and ideas of all kinds" (Article 19), and the right to freedom of association: "right to freedom of association with others?for the protection of his own interests" (Article 22).

Article 9 of the ICCPR also protects the right to be safe from arbitrary detention and arrest. It specifically states, "anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him," and "shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized." Dr. Son's lengthy pre-trial detention was in violation of both the July 1988 Vietnam Criminal Procedure Code and the ICCPR.

Article 14 of the ICCPR guarantees the right to a fair and public hearing, by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal; right to have adequate time and facilities for the preparation of a defense, and to communicate with the counsel of one's own choosing; right to call and question witnesses; and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.

In addition, it has been reported that Dr. Son was held at the remote prison camp of Yen Dinh in Thanh Hoa province, in a cell inside without windows and at temperatures that reached higher than 104º Fahrenheit. The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners stipulates that there be windows "in all places where prisoners are required to live or work."

Vietnam is both party to the ICCPR and a longtime member state of the United Nations. PHR once again urges the Vietnamese government to act in accordance with the provisions of international law.

Sources:
-Amnesty International. "Dr. Pham Hong Son: Prisoner of Conscience". August 1, 2005
-BBC NEWS: "Vietnam Net Dissident Jailed". June 18, 2003.
-Human Rights Watch. "Vietnam's Crackdown on Cyber-Dissidents". June 17, 2003