VIET NAM Communication sent

403. On 26 September 2001, the Special Representative transmitted an allegation to the Government of Viet Nam. The Special Representative expressed her concern that human rights defenders are perceived with unveiled hostility by the authorities. Under vaguely defined "national security" provisions embodied in the Criminal Code and other domestic legislation, human rights defenders are said to be at risk of being imprisoned or placed in "administrative detention" without trial, allegedly for their peaceful activities. The Special Representative was also concerned that there are no independent indigenous human rights NGOs in Viet Nam and that all "social organizations" (i.e., organizations which are not direct branches of the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP)) must belong to the "Fatherland Front", an umbrella organization composed of non-Party elements, but said to be under Communist Party control.

404. The communication concerned the following cases.

405. Professor Nguyen Dinh Huy, a journalist and press editor, founder and president of the Movement to Unite People and Build Democracy, is said to be currently detained in Z30A prison camp, Xuan Loc, Dong Nai province, where he had been since May 1996. According to the information received, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huy was arrested on 17 November 1993 for trying to organize an international conference on democracy, human rights, economic development and peaceful political change in Ho Chi Minh City. In April 1995, he was reported to have been sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment and hard labour, allegedly for "acting to overthrow the people's Government".

406. Professor Nguyen Thanh Giang, a writer and outspoken intellectual, was reportedly arrested and imprisoned for two months on 4 March 1999, for having reportedly written documents which showed "close collusion with reactionary forces abroad to disrupt the social order". His writings have allegedly focused on political pluralism, labour rights and the problems of State-owned enterprises. According to the information received, he was released after he went on hunger strike in June 1999 and he has been victim of harassment since then. It was alleged that on 20 October 1999 he was subjected to police harassment and his computer was confiscated after two days of interrogation and he was forced to quit his research job at a government science institute. According to the information received, Mr. Giang remained under surveillance throughout the year 2000.

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407. Mr. Nguyen Dan Que, founder of the Non-violent Movement for Human Rights in

Viet Nam, was reportedly under house arrest at Ho Chi Minh City. According to the information received, he was arrested in 1990 for "trying to overthrow the regime" and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment. He reportedly issued an appeal calling for a free and democratic Viet Nam through free and fair elections. Mr. Que was reportedly released and placed under house arrest in 1998. It was also alleged that, in 1998, his telephone was cut, his mail censured and his family harassed by the police. According to the information received, on 12 April 2000, the Vietnamese authorities arrested Ms. Sylvaine Pasquier, a reporter with the French magazine L 'Express, while she was trying to meet Mr. Que for an interview at his house. She was reportedly expelled from Viet Nam after 24 hours of detention and interrogation at a police station in Ho Chi Minh City. It was also reported that, on 15 January 2001, Mr. Que and his wife were summoned to a "popular denunciation session" staged by the public security in the 5th district of Ho Chi Minh City. They were accused of treason because Dr. Que is said to have proclaimed the foundation of his new organization, named "Get-together for Democracy", in November 2000.

408. Mr. Nguyen Van Ly Thadeus, a Roman Catholic priest, was reportedly detained in Thua Phu prison. He was allegedly arrested on 17 May 2001 for his peaceful advocacy of religious freedom. According to the information received, Mr. Nguyen Van Ly Thadeus was placed under administrative detention for two years for having sent, on 13 February 2001, a written testimony to a United States congressional hearing on violations of religious freedom in Viet Nam. The Thua Thien-Hue Provincial People's Committee had reportedly forbidden him to exercise his religious functions during his two-year administrative detention period and he was said to have later been arrested for violating this order. It was also reported that the State-controlled press has begun a vilification campaign against him, accusing him of treason.

409. Mr. Thich Tue Sy, secretary general of the Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam, a writer and honorary member of PEN International and PEN Canada, was reportedly under house arrest in the Quang Huong Gia Lam pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City for his peaceful advocacy of freedom of belief and opinion. According to the information received, Mr. Thich Tue Sy was released in September 1998 after 17 years of imprisonment and hard labour. After his release, he was allegedly subjected to police surveillance, interrogations and threats. On 14 September 1999, he was interrogated at the local police station and his computer hard disk was confiscated for his alleged attempt to overthrow the Government. It was also alleged that, in May 2001, he was harassed and interrogated by the police, who were reported to have initiated a repression campaign against the Vietnamese Unified Buddhist Church. On 25 May 2001, he was

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threatened at his pagoda by the police for his refusal to go to the police station in order to be interrogated. It was also alleged that, on 3 June 2001, Mr. Thich Tue Sy wrote a letter to the "Tribunal Populaire Supreme", protesting against the harassment he has allegedly been subjected to.

410. Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang, patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam, has reportedly been under house arrest without charges since 1982. Security police are said to be permanently stationed on the only road leading to his hut and are thus able to monitor and control all his visits. Mr. Thich Huyen Quang was allegedly never officially sentenced and was arrested allegedly for his peaceful advocacy of religious freedom, human rights and democracy. In November 1993, he reportedly issued a landmark "Declaration" calling for democratic reform, such as the legalization of opposition parties, free elections and a multiparty system. According to the information received, Thich Huyen Quang was formally "released" by order of the Quang Ngai Security Police on 27 October 1997, even though he remains under house arrest.

411. Venerable Thich Quang Do, a writer, scholar, head of the Institute for the Propagation of the Dharma and the second-highest dignitary of the Unified Buddhist Church of Viet Nam, was reportedly detained incommunicado in Thanh Minh Zen monastery. It was alleged that

on 1 June 2001 the Ho Chi Minh People's Committee placed him under administrative detention for two years, which was a "reactivation" of a five-year probationary detention sentence for which Thich Quang Do was amnestied in 1998. This "reactivation" was said to have been the consequence of a letter sent by Mr. Thich Quang Do to the authorities, asking for the release of Mr. Thich Huyen Quang, and to be aimed at preventing Mr. Thich Quang Do from travelling to the central province of Quang Ngai on 7 June 2001 to escort Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang to Saigon for medical treatment. It was reported that Security Police officers guard the room of Thich Quang Do, control his meals and forbid any visits or phone calls. It was also reported that the State-controlled press has begun a vilification campaign against Thich Quang Do, accusing him of "corruption", and that the police have circulated a series of "anonymous letters" in Saigon slandering the monk.