Nguyen Nang Tinh‘s wife, Nguyen Thi Tinh, said that Tinh told her in a call home that he was still having pain in his knee joints even though he had been taking various types of medication and eating food meant to relieve the symptoms. However, Tinh has not had a medical exam to determine which exact medication is needed.

Luu Van Vinh and Huynh Minh Tam

Four families joined each other to visit their loved ones imprisoned at Gia Trung Prison in Gia Lai Province on July 31 and August 1. They are family members of Luu Van Vinh (serving 15 years), Huynh Minh Tam (9 years), Nguyen Thi Xuan, and Nguyen Doan Quang Vien. The group chose to visit on the last day of the month so that they could turn around and visit again the next day since by law they’re only allowed one visit per month. Many families choose to do it this way to save money and time due to the long distances they have to travel, even though it means that they essentially can only see their loved ones once every two months — but for two days in a row.

Pham Van Troi

Former political prisoner Pham Van Troi, released on July 30 after serving a seven-year sentence, provided Project88 with some details of his time in jail. Arrested on July 31, 2017, Troi was held in temporary detention center B14, in Hanoi, for nearly 12 months. In the beginning, he said he was interrogated twice a day, including Saturdays and Sundays. The sessions were recorded on video and streamed directly to other parts of the prison; sometimes he was notified of this, sometimes not. He was held in a two-person cell, each person having a 2 square-meters space. He was let out only for interrogation sessions.

On July 5, 2018, he was transferred to Nam Ha Prison, also in Hanoi. Troi was held in a four-person cell about 12 square-meters with one shared open toilet next to a bed. The cell had a camera monitor and audio recorder. The only meat they were given was pork; a lot of times it was old, discolored, and smelled. Drinking water came from a well; the water had a nasty smell. Troi and other prisoners suspect that water from this well was unfit to drink.

Troi reported he was healthy before his arrest. One year after his detention, he began to suffer from headaches, joint pain, nerve pain, an uneven heartbeat, and severe low blood pressure. He noted that many prisoners at Nam Ha prison experienced low blood pressure, even some who had high blood pressure before they were incarcerated. Troi himself had to go to the clinic several times a week due to his conditions. Twice he was sent to the Ha Nam Hospital (2021 and 2023). However, he was only examined and then sent back to prison, in handcuffs, with some medication.

Political prisoners could not possess pen or paper. They could only request these on Tuesdays, and if approved, they would be given two pieces of paper on Fridays to write one of the following approved items: letters home, formal requests, re-education activities. There were times when an approved letter or request was never sent. In fact, in the beginning of his imprisonment, none of Troi’s letters home were sent; the situation only changed after he made repeated complaints.

Troi and other prisoners also suspect that there is some strange type of device above the roof of their cell that emitted an unusual humming electrical sound, causing headaches. The sound could be clearly heard at night; they did not hear the sound during the day. The prisoners think that this noise contributed to their medical problems.

VIETNAM IN THE WORLD

Visit to Vietnam: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to development, Surya Deva. UN General Assembly; 2024-07-8. The Special Rapporteur on the right to development, Surya Deva, conducted a visit to Vietnam from 6 to 15 November 2023. In his report on the visit, Deva recommended that the Vietnamese government engage “in meaningful consultation with communities and individuals, in particular groups in vulnerable situations, when implementing green growth, climate change and environmental policies, for a just transition.” Thus far, this has not been the case. In addition, Deva recommended that Vietnam “ratify the ILO Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87).” Unfortunately, in Directive 24, Vietnam’s senior leaders said that they have no intention to comply with ILO Convention No. 87, even if the country does ratify it.

Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review. Human Rights Council. 2024-06-21. During the interactive dialogue, 133 delegations made statements. Recommendations made during the dialogue are to be found in section II of the present report.

Vietnam’s newly appointed party chief set to visit China next week. Reuters; 2024-08-12. Vietnam’s top leader To Lam will visit China next week in his first foreign trip since his appointment as general secretary of the ruling Communist Party earlier in August, three officials familiar with the matter told Reuters. The move would confirm the close ties between the two communist-run neighbors, which have well developed economic and trade relations despite occasionally clashing over boundaries in the energy-rich South China Sea, a crucial commercial waterway that Beijing claims almost in its entirety—irking several countries in the region.

ADDITIONAL NEWS AND ANALYSIS

In Vietnamese: Việt Nam: Cạnh tranh nội bộ khiến lãnh đạo lơ là trước các thách thức của đất nước?. BBC Vietnamese; 2024-08-12.

What Will To Lam’s Foreign Policy Look Like? The Vietnamese; 2024-08-13. President To Lam has been elected the new general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) after an extraordinary plenum of the Central Committee, cementing his position as the country’s most powerful politician. All eyes are now on To Lam, the first person to hold both of the most powerful positions in Vietnamese politics since the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2021. As Vietnam faces tremendous challenges across different areas, from a slowing economy and increasing social issues to balancing international relations, observers are keen to see what To Lam’s foreign policy will look like.

Vietnam signals action to tackle ‘negative impact’ of Falun Gong. RFA; 2024-08-09. Members of the Falun Gong spiritual sect are having a negative impact on Vietnam’s political security and public order and authorities will act to discourage participation in its activities, Vietnamese state media reported. The movement, founded in China in 1992, has been banned in China and is closely monitored in Vietnam. Vietnam’s Ministry of Interior said it planned to take a strong stance against followers of the sect and would act to prevent the formation of “illegal organizations”, according to a report on Tuesday in the Capital Security page, a special publication of the People’s Police newspaper.

Analysts: Vietnam’s new leader promises reform, but it won’t be easy. RFA; 2024-08-12. If To Lam really wants to tackle the country’s problems, he should repeal Article 4 of the Constitution, which was written in 1992 and established the Communist Party of Vietnam as the country’s leading force, said Tran Anh Quan, a young activist from Ho Chi Minh City. The biggest obstacle to moving the country forward is the Communist Party’s one-party rule, which doesn’t allow for a political opposition or for freedom of speech, he said. Removing Article 4 would allow multiple parties to compete in a fair and transparent manner, he said.

© 2024 The 88 Project