AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

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AAAS Human Rights Action Network

FACTS OF THE CASE:

AAAS is concerned about the long term imprisonment of Vietnamese endocrinologist Dr. Nguyen Dan Que and nurse Vo Van Pham. Both men were arrested in the early 1990s for the peaceful expression of their views. Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, who is serving a 20-year prison term for a manifesto he drafted which calls for democratic change in Vietnam, is suffering ill-health. Vo Van Pham is currently serving a 12-year prison term for his calls for a multi-party political system.

Dr. Nguyen Dan Que is the founding member of a peaceful opposition group called "Cao Trao Nhan Ban" (The High Tide of Humanism Movement). On 11 May 1990, the group issued a manifesto calling on individuals both within and outside of the country to sign a petition demanding nonviolent social and economic change for Vietnam, including movement towards a multi-party system of government. Dr. Que was arrested on 14 July 1990. At his trial on 29 November 1991, Dr. Que was charged with engaging in "activities aimed at overthrowing the people's government," and sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment and 5 years' subsequent deprivation of political rights. In April 1993, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared that his detention was arbitrary.

Now 55 years old, Dr. Que has been kept in solitary confinement for extended periods of time, and in recent years has experienced serious health problems. He is currently being held at the Z30A prison, Xuan Loc in Dong Nai Province, about 40 miles South of Ho Chi Minh City in Southern Vietnam.

Dr. Que, formerly the director of the medical department of Cho-Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), was previously arrested in 1978 and accused of "rebelling against the regime." He was released in 1988 after a decade of imprisonment without official charge or sentence. He has been awarded the Raoul Wallenberg Human Rights Award (1994), the Robert Kennedy Human Rights Award (1995), and was recognized at the Science and Human Rights Reception at the 1996 AAAS Annual Meeting.

Vo Van Pham, a 49-year-old nurse with six children, was arrested on 6 July 1991 in Central Vietnam. He was charged as "someone who organizes, incites, or actively participates in the establishment [of an] organization aimed at overthrowing the people's government [and] causes grave consequences." The charge reportedly stems from comments made by Vo Van Pham in favor of multi-party democracy in Vietnam. In addition to 12 years' imprisonment, his sentence includes 2 years' probation to take effect at the end of his prison term. He is reportedly held in the Z30D/K1 "Reeducation" camp at Ham Tan, Binh Thuan Province.

The arbitrary detention of Dr. Nguyen Dan Que and Vo Van Pham constitute serious violations of international human rights standards, including basic protections in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (ratified by Vietnam on 24 September 1982). They include:

• the right to liberty and security of the person (Article 9, ICCPR; Article 9, UDHR);
• the right to freedom of expression (Article 19, ICCPR; Article 19, UDHR); and
• the right to freedom of association (Article 21, ICCPR; Article 20, UDHR).

(Sources of information on this case include Amnesty International Medical Office/Asia Regional Program; and Physicians for Human Rights.)

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send telexes, telegrams, faxes, or airmail letters:

• expressing concern about the continued imprisonment of Dr. Nguyen Dan Que and Vo Van Pham;
• urging that they be immediately and unconditionally released on the grounds that they are prisoners of conscience; and
• requesting that Dr. Que be provided with adequate medical treatment.

APPEAL AND INQUIRY MESSAGES SHOULD BE SENT TO:

Vo Van Kiet
Prime Minister
Hoang Hoa Tham
Ha Noi
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Salutation: Your Excellency

Le Minh Huong
Minister of the Interior
Ministry of the Interior
Tran Binh Trong
Ha Noi
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Salutation: Dear Minister

Nguyen Manh Cam
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1 Ton That Dam
Ha Noi
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
Salutation: Dear Minister

COPIES SENT TO:

Mr. Bang Van LE
Charge d'Affaires ad interim
1233 20th Street, NW, Suite 501
Washington, DC 20036

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