NHỮNG VỤ ÁN
Begin PGP Signed Message
Date: 6/2/00
Country: Vietnam
Subject: Biologist Arrested
Case Numbers:
VI0001.Phu (Ha Si Phu)
Type of Alert:
ALERT, New Case
ISSUES: Right to liberty and security of
the person; freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention, and exile; and
freedom of expression.
FACTS OF THE CASE: Ha Si Phu was placed
under house arrest on May 12,2000 with the possible charge of treason
under Article 72 of Vietnam's Criminal Code. Authorities believe that Ha
Si Phu may be
one of the authors of an open appeal for
greater democracy in Vietnam.
After finding a letter from Ha Si Phu
and a copy of a statement calling for greater democracy in Vietman in
the house of another leading dissident, Mai Thai Linh, the police
searched Ha Si Phu's
house on April 28 and confiscated his
computer, printer and diskettes. On May 12, the police issued written
statements that he was to be placed under house arrest and that he will
be tried for
treason under Article 72 of the Vietnam
Criminal Code, which carries a possible sentence ranging from seven-year
imprisonment to the death
penalty. A condition of the house
arrest is that Ha Si Phu is to report to police headquarters in Dalat,
Lam Dong Province daily for interrogation.
Ha Si Phu is the pen name of Nguyen Xuan
Tu. He is a biologist who completed his post-graduate work in
Czechoslovakia. After completing his degree, he worked at the Vietnam
Institute of Science, eventually holding the post of Vice-Director.
However, when he refused to join the Communist Party, he was forced out
of the Institute.
According to friends, he created a
mini-laboratory in his small apartment. As his finances worsened, he
turned his scientific knowledge into a small business of growing
mushrooms for the market
and brewing homemade beer.
Ha Si Phu is a member of a group of
intellectual dissidents in Dalat,Vietnam. In 1988, he wrote a document
entitled, "Hand In Hand We Go Under the (Direction of) Intelligence"
which criticized the communist state of Vietnam. The document was
published internationally in 1993. He also wrote several other
critiques in the subsequent years,
including his most well known, "Farewell
to Ideology," which he wrote in 1995.
Ha Si Phu has been detained before for
speaking out against the government. In 1995, he was charged with
"stealing state secrets" for his possession of a copy of then-Prime
Minster Vo Van Kiet's
letter to the Vietnamese Communist
Party, a letter that was well known in Vietnam and widely published
abroad. He was imprisoned without trial from December 1995 to August
1996. He was given a
brief, closed-door trial in August 1996,
where he was sentenced to one year in prison. Amnesty International
considered him a prisoner
of conscience. In response to the
international pressure calling for his release, Vietnamese officials
released him in December 1996.
After his release, he remained under
unofficial house arrest with his telephone lines monitored and his house
under security surveillance.
The arrest of Ha Si Phu constitutes a
serious violation of international human rights standards, including
basic protections listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified
by
Vietnam on 24 September 1982). They
include:
Under the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights:
· Everyone has the right to life,
liberty, and security of person (Article 3);
· everyone has the right to freedom of
expression (Article 19); and
· everyone has the right to freedom of
association (Article 20).
Under the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights:
· Everyone has the right to life,
liberty, and security of person.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary
arrest or detention (Article
9);
· everyone has the right to freedom of
expression (Article 19); and
· everyone has the right to freedom of
association (Article 22).
(Sources for this alert include: Human
Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Thong Luan Organization and the
Free Vietnam Alliance)
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send Letter,
fax or email messages:
· Calling on the government of Vietnam
to release Ha Si Phu immediately and unconditionally on the grounds that
he was arrested solely for exercising his right to freedom of
expression.
APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE
SENT TO:
Phan Van Khai
Prime Minister
Hoang Hoa Tham
Ha Noi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(Salutation: Your Excellency)
Maj. Gen. Le Minh Huong
Minister of Public Security
Ministry of Public Security
Tran Binh Trong
Ha Noi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(Salutation: Dear Minister)
Nguyen Manh Cam
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1 Ton That Dam
Ha Noi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(Salutation: Dear Minister)
COPIES TO:
His Excellency Le Van Bang
Ambassador to the United States
Embassy of Vietnam
1233 20th St., NW, Suite 501
Washington, DC 20036
Fax: 202 861 0917
Salutation: Dear Mr. Ambassador
Ambassador Douglas B. Peterson
Ambassador to Vietnam
Embassy of the United States of America
PSC 461, Box 400
FPO AP 96521-0002
Fax: 011 84 4 835 0484
Salutation: Dear Mr. Ambassador
Please send copies of your appeals, and
any responses you may receive, or direct any questions you may have to
Victoria Baxter,AAAS Science and Human Rights Program, 1200 New York
Ave, NW,
Washington, DC 20005; tel. 202-326-6797;
email
vbaxter@aaas.org or fax 202-289-4950.
The keys to effective appeals are to be
courteous and respectful,accurate and precise, impartial in approach,
and as specific as possible regarding the alleged violation and the
international human
rights standards and instruments that
apply to the situation.
Reference to your scientific
organization and professional affiliation is always helpful.
To ensure that appeals are current and
credible, please do not continue to write appeals on this case after 90
days from the date of
the posting unless an update has been
issued.
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