GVN Previews National Day Amnesties, Including One Amcit and Two Prisoners of Concern

UNCLAS HANOI 002186 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT PASS TO EAP/MLS; DRL/AWH; DRL/IRF; CA/OCS/EAP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM KIRF OASC CASC VM SUBJECT: GVN Previews National Day Amnesties, Including One Amcit and Two Prisoners of Concern ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The MFA informed us August 28 that Amcit Nguyen Bach and two prisoners of concern to the USG -- Dr. Pham Hong Son and Ma Van Bay -- will be released on the occasion of Vietnam's September 2 National Day amnesty. Although the releases are "without conditions," there will be certain restrictions that attend to their respective terms of probation. Two other prisoners of concern, Nguyen Vu Binh and Phan Van Ban, will not be released because they "have not yet met the conditions for amnesty." End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Pol/C met August 28 with MFA International Organizations Department Senior Officer Pham Thi Kim Anh, who provided formal notification of State President Nguyen Minh Triet's August 25 decision to amnesty AmCit Nguyen Bach and prisoners of concern Pham Hong Son and Ma Van Bay (background information in paragraph 7). Pol/C welcomed the news and, in response to his question about the timing of and conditions for their release, Anh said that they will be released "as soon as possible" to allow them to enjoy National Day with their families. Furthermore, there are no conditions for their release, per se, but because they will be on probation for "some time," there will be "certain things they can and cannot do." (Note: For other amnestied prisoners of concern, this has meant travel and other restrictions. End Note.) ¶3. (SBU) On the subject of remaining prisoners of concern Nguyen Vu Binh and Phan Van Ban, Anh said that they will not be amnestied because they are not yet eligible. In Binh's case, he is not eligible because he has not served one-half of his sentence. (Note: Binh was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment on December 31, ¶2003. End Note.) In Ban's case, he would only be eligible for amnesty if his life sentence (imposed in 1985) were commuted to 20 years, which has not yet happened. Pol/C urged the GVN to consider releasing both these men and repeated the Ambassador's standing request to visit Nguyen Vu Binh in prison. Anh said that the MFA had looked hard at Ban's case, particularly because his son is an Amcit living in the United States, and would "continue to work on it." ¶4. (SBU) Four ethnic minority prisoners -- Ksor Drual and Siu Quyet (from Prison No. 5 in Thanh Hoa Province),Kpa Ylieu (Xuan Phuoc Prison) and Y Oal Nie (Nam Ha Prison) -- will also be amnestied. (Note: According to our files, Nie is an ethnic minority Ede from Dak Lak Province who had been serving a five-year sentence for "sabotaging national unity." The other three individuals are unknown to us at this time. End note.) ¶5. (SBU) Comment: The release of Son and Bay is welcome news. Son has been our top prisoner of concern for nearly two years and the USG has made many representations on behalf of both of them. We will make arrangements to meet with both Pham Hong Son and Ma Van Bay at an appropriate time after their release. ¶6. (SBU) Comment, cont'd: With this amnesty, our list of religious prisoners of concern has been wiped clean, and our overall list of concern is down to two names. We will continue to press for the release of Nguyen Vu Binh and Phan Van Ban, as well as a meeting in prison between the Ambassador and Binh. End Comment. ¶7. (SBU) Background on prisoners of concern. -- Pham Hong Son. A cyber-dissident who was arrested by police after he translated an article from the website of the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam, titled "What is Democracy," and sent it to senior Vietnamese officials. Son was sentenced to 13 years for espionage on June 17, 2003, after a five-hour closed trial. This was reduced to five years' imprisonment on appeal on Aug 26, 2003. -- Ma Van Bay. A Protestant church leader in Ha Giang Province, Bay was arrested in 1997 and charged with theft after collecting voluntary donations for church use. Bay escaped from custody and lived for several years in Binh Phuoc Province. In November 2003, he was arrested again and returned to Ha Giang and sentenced to six years' imprisonment on April 28, 2004. MARINE