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CPJ concerned about health of imprisoned Internet writer |
New York,
July 25, 2005—The
Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by reports that the
health of imprisoned writer Pham Hong Son is deteriorating. Son,
imprisoned since 2002 for distributing pro-democracy writings, has been
coughing up blood, a U.S.-based Vietnamese dissident group, the People's
Democracy Party (PDP), reported last week. Family members have requested
a medical examination to determine the cause, a PDP source said.
Son, a physician, was arrested in
The Vietnamese government called Son's work "antistate" and the Hanoi
People's Court in June 2003 sentenced Son to 13 years in prison, plus an
additional three years of house arrest. Son's sentence was later reduced
to five years.
In August 2004, Son's wife, Vu Thuy Ha, told the U.S.-government funded
Radio Free Asia that her husband was in very poor health and suffered
from a hernia.
Son remains incarcerated despite several amnesties of political
prisoners by the Vietnamese government during the past year. Internet
writers Nguyen Khac Toan and Nguyen Vu Binh are still jailed as well.
"We are gravely concerned about the toll that more than three years'
imprisonment has taken on the health of Pham Hong Son," CPJ Executive
Director Ann Cooper said. "We call on Vietnamese authorities to release
him immediately so that he can seek medical treatment."
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Amnesty International
5 Penn Plaza – 14th floor
Ref: Immediate Release of Dr. Pham Hong Son for Medical Treatment
Dear Sir/Madam,
The immediate release of Dr. Pham Hong Son for medical treatment is necessary. We call on you for special attention and action to this urgent matter.
Dr. Pham Hong Son, a medical doctor who was incarcerated for his
translation of an article from the website of the U.S. Embassy in
We respectfully call on your attention about Dr. Son’s case and
appeal for your support in asking
The People’s Democracy Party (PDP) has been founded in
On behalf of our Party, we also kindly ask you to demand the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (SRV) release all political prisoners such as former reporter Nguyen Vu Binh and former SRV’s soldier Nguyen Khac Toan who were held behind bars for distributing their democratic writing online.
Thank you very much for your supports. We look forward to your response.
Sincerely
Son Nguyen
The People’s Democracy Party