VIETNAM :
Government urged to pardon three cyber-dissidents on national holiday
31
August 2005
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without
Borders called on justice minister Uong Chu Luu and on president Tran Duc Luong
to include Pham Hong Son, Nguyen Khac Toan and Nguyen Vu Binh in the list of
prisoners who will be pardoned on the 60th anniversary of Vietnam's independence
on 2 September. The organisation draws his attention in particular to the case
of Pham Hong Son, who is very ill.
"Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom organisation, would like to ask you
to include prisoners of conscience Pham Hong Son, Nguyen Khac Toan and Nguyen Vu
Binh in the list of prisoners who will be pardoned on the 60th anniversary of
Vietnam's independence on 2 September. We think the time has come to show
clemency towards these three men, who have already spent three years in prison
and whose only crime was to express themselves freely on the Internet.
We would in particular like to draw your attention to the state of health of
Pham Hong Son, who has chest pains and is spitting up blood - the symptoms of
tuberculosis, a disease that could be fatal. Several tumours have also appeared
on his face and body, possibly indicating that the conditions in his cell are
prejudicial to his health. We therefore urge you to show leniency towards Pham
Hong Son, especially as his case is very similar to that of Le Chi Quang, who
you agreed to release in June 2004 on medical grounds.
As well as Le Chi Quang, four other political prisoners have been freed in the
past seven months: Pham Que Duong and Tran Khue in July 2004, and Dr. Nguyen Dan
Que and the journalist Nguyen Dinh Huy in February 2005. We hailed all of these
releases and they give us hope that you will agree to reexamine the cases of
Pham Hong Son, Nguyen Khac Toan and Nguyen Vu Binh, whose detention has gone on
too long."