Freedom of expression campaigners PEN America are calling on a senior U.S. diplomat to push for the release of political prisoners during her visit to Vietnam.
Undersecretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya is due in Hanoi this week "to engage partners on human rights, humanitarian cooperation, and human-centered civilian security," according to the State Department.
"We welcome attention to human rights in Vietnam and call on @UnderSecStateJ to push for the release of imprisoned writers and urge the Vietnamese government to provide necessary medical treatment to political prisoners," PEN wrote in a post on social media platform X, noting that Vietnam jailed the third most writers globally last year, imprisoning 19 of them.
The State Department said Zeya, who is traveling with Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Allison Peters, will use her meetings with senior Vietnamese officials to “underscore the United States’ commitment to the U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including the promotion and protection of human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, support for marginalized and vulnerable groups, and coordination to address global challenges, including trafficking in persons and other transnational crimes.”
PEN urged Zeya to raise the cases of writers such as Pham Doan Trang and Le Huu Minh Tuan.
“We are concerned about the deteriorating health of political prisoners such as Tuan, who has not received adequate medical treatment,” the New York-based group said.
Tuan, 35, a former Vietnam Times editor and member of the Vietnam Independent Journalists’ Association, was arrested in 2020 on the charge of “conducting propaganda against the state.”
In January 2021, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The following year, he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and hepatitis by prison medical staff and is now unable to eat solid food, according to a U.N. rights rapporteur.
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Trang, 46, was arrested in 2020, also accused of “anti-state propaganda.”
In December 2021, a Hanoi court jailed her for nine years.
She is the author of several books on democracy and helped write bilingual reports on human rights in Vietnam.
Radio Free Asia emailed the U.S. and Vietnamese State Departments with a request for comment on PEN America’s call but did not immediately receive a response.
Activists’ reactions
Former political prisoner Ngo Van Dung, who is also known as Facebooker Bien Man, completed a 5-year prison sentence last year for participating in 2018 protests against a bill on Special Economic Zones, seen to favor foreign companies, and one on Cyber Security, considered by many to restrict freedom of speech.
He told RFA political prisoners were held in extremely harsh conditions, with cramped cells, poor or non-existent medical care, and restrictions on receiving gifts from friends and relatives.
“I hope you pay more attention and urge Vietnam to release all political prisoners,” he said when asked what message he had for Zeya. “If they have not yet been released, authorities should improve medical care because every time they get sick, political prisoners have to apply several times to get their cases resolved and some do not get resolved.”
Le Quang Hien, general secretary of the Vietnam Interfaith Council, which fights for religious freedom, said Zeya needed to visit places where people were being persecuted for their religion.
“In Vietnam, the government allows religious freedom for state-affiliated religious organizations, so the United States must directly contact the organizations and places that are being oppressed to find out the truth," he said.
Human rights activist Quyet Ho said many Western democracies are willing to put economic interests above human rights and turn a blind eye to violations by the Vietnamese government.
However, he said he was still hopeful the U.S. would fight for the rights of political prisoners and force Vietnam to provide treatment for inmates with health problems.
Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn.