By Vu Quoc Ngu, July 15, 2016
The information in Amnesty International’s recent report on the situation at detention camps in Vietnam is incorrect, Spokesman Le Hai Binh of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.
Speaking at a regular press conference in Hanoi on July 14, Mr. Binh said that Vietnam has consistent policy to ensure and promote human rights in conformity with the country’s Constitution and international standards.
As a member of seven UN conventions on human rights and party of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Vietnam always follows the member state’s commitments and obligations strictly and fully, he said.
The country’s efforts and achievements in ensuring and promoting human rights have received acknowledgement from the international community, he added.
Binh’s statement came two days after the London-based human rights organization released its report titled Prisons within Prisons: Torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of conscience in Vietnam which was based on interviewing 18 former prisoners of conscience, who spent between one month and a decade in incarceration.
The report details the ordeals endured by prisoners of conscience in one of the most closed countries in Asia, including prolonged periods of incommunicado detention and solitary confinement, enforced disappearances, the denial of medical treatment, and punitive prison transfers.
Five of these men and women described to Amnesty International how they spent lengthy periods of time in solitary confinement in dark, fetid cells without access to fresh air, clean water and sanitation. Some were frequently beaten in clear contravention of global and national prohibitions on torture.
The torture and ill-treatment was especially intense during pre-trial detention, as authorities aimed to extract a “confession”, former prisoners of conscience told Amnesty International.
When prisoners have not been kept in isolation, they have been left vulnerable to abuse by other prisoners, the report said.
“Vietnam’s authorities should seize the moment as the country’s amended penal and criminal procedures codes are being reviewed. Now is the time to make good on their international obligations, by bringing to book those responsible for torture and other ill-treatment, and ensuring this appalling practice ends,” said Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International’s Director for South East Asia and the Pacific.
Meanwhile, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its report released in February that Vietnam’s rights situation was “critical.”
“Rights activists and dissident bloggers face constant harassment and intimidation, including physical assault and imprisonment. Farmers have lost land to development projects without adequate compensation, and there is an absence of independent unions for workers,” HRW said.
The HRW said Vietnam is holding about 150 prisoners of conscience while Amnesty International said the figure is 84. Hanoi has rejected of holding any prisoner of conscience but only law violators.
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July 16, 2016
Amnesty International’s Report on Vietnam Prisons Incorrect: Ministry
by Nhan Quyen • [Human Rights]
By Vu Quoc Ngu, July 15, 2016
The information in Amnesty International’s recent report on the situation at detention camps in Vietnam is incorrect, Spokesman Le Hai Binh of Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.
Speaking at a regular press conference in Hanoi on July 14, Mr. Binh said that Vietnam has consistent policy to ensure and promote human rights in conformity with the country’s Constitution and international standards.
As a member of seven UN conventions on human rights and party of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Vietnam always follows the member state’s commitments and obligations strictly and fully, he said.
The country’s efforts and achievements in ensuring and promoting human rights have received acknowledgement from the international community, he added.
Binh’s statement came two days after the London-based human rights organization released its report titled Prisons within Prisons: Torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of conscience in Vietnam which was based on interviewing 18 former prisoners of conscience, who spent between one month and a decade in incarceration.
The report details the ordeals endured by prisoners of conscience in one of the most closed countries in Asia, including prolonged periods of incommunicado detention and solitary confinement, enforced disappearances, the denial of medical treatment, and punitive prison transfers.
Five of these men and women described to Amnesty International how they spent lengthy periods of time in solitary confinement in dark, fetid cells without access to fresh air, clean water and sanitation. Some were frequently beaten in clear contravention of global and national prohibitions on torture.
The torture and ill-treatment was especially intense during pre-trial detention, as authorities aimed to extract a “confession”, former prisoners of conscience told Amnesty International.
When prisoners have not been kept in isolation, they have been left vulnerable to abuse by other prisoners, the report said.
“Vietnam’s authorities should seize the moment as the country’s amended penal and criminal procedures codes are being reviewed. Now is the time to make good on their international obligations, by bringing to book those responsible for torture and other ill-treatment, and ensuring this appalling practice ends,” said Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International’s Director for South East Asia and the Pacific.
Meanwhile, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its report released in February that Vietnam’s rights situation was “critical.”
“Rights activists and dissident bloggers face constant harassment and intimidation, including physical assault and imprisonment. Farmers have lost land to development projects without adequate compensation, and there is an absence of independent unions for workers,” HRW said.
The HRW said Vietnam is holding about 150 prisoners of conscience while Amnesty International said the figure is 84. Hanoi has rejected of holding any prisoner of conscience but only law violators.