Viet Nam
19.02.03
Urgent Interventions
Vietnam: incommunicado detention and refusal of medical treatment for two religious leaders
VNM 190203
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention / Ill-treatment / Risk to personal integrity
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Vietnam.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by the Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l’Homme, a member of the OMCT network, and other reliable sources, of the denial of Thich Huyen Quang’s right to travel to Ho Chi Minh City in order to seek medical treatment as well as the incommunicado detention of Thich Quang Do, both of whom are religious leaders in Vietnam.
According to information received, 86-year old Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang, a leader of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, is suffering from a painful growth near his eye. Doctors in Quang Ngai hospital have examined him and believe that the growth may be cancerous. The doctors recommended that Mr. Quang travel to Ho Chi Minh City to undergo treatment, because the Quang Ngai hospital does not have the capability required in order to undertake such a procedure.
It is reported that on February 12th, 2003, the Quang Ngai Police rejected the recommendation of the doctors and banned Mr. Quang from leaving the province. It is reported that Mr. Huyen also suffers from high blood pressure, chronic arthritis, stomach ulcers, and that his health has been seriously deteriorating in recent times.
According to the information received, Thich Huyen Quang has been detained without trial since 1982 because he is a member of the banned United Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). Because of poor detention conditions and a lack of medical care, it is reported that Mr. Quang’s health problems have increased during this time. He is reportedly held in a damp hut close to the Quang Phouc Pagoda, Cho Chua hamlet in a remote area of the Quang Ngai province.
According to information received, the UBCV’s deputy leader Thich Quang Do has called on the Vietnamese Government to release Thich Huyen Quang on two occasions. It is reported that he told the Government that he would bring a protest group to escort Thich Huyen Quang to Saigon if he was not released before June 7th, 2001. However, on June 1st, 2001, Thich Quang Do was arrested by the Security Police in Saigon’s Phu Nhuan district. He was reportedly sentenced to two years of administrative detention, and has been held in incommunicado detention ever since.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do. The Vietnamese Government’s refusal to allow Thich Huyen Quang to travel to Ho Chi Minh City in order to receive necessary medical care is of grave concern to OMCT and represents a violation of his personal integrity, and given the possibility that he may have cancer, represents a severe risk to his health. OMCT is also greatly concerned by the incommunicado detention of Thich Quang Do, and fears that he may be being subjected to ill-treatment or torture during his detention.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Vietnam urging them to
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do;
ii. immediately allow Thich Huyen Quang to travel to Ho Chi Minh City so that he can receive the urgent medical care that he needs;
iii. call for the immediate release of both Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do;
iv. immediately release Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do;
v. guarantee adequate and appropriate reparation to Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do;
vi. guarantee the basic right to the freedom of religion and immediately put an end to the harassment and detention of religious leaders;
vii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout Vietnam in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President Tran Duc Luong, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Office of the State, 1 Bach Thao, Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
· Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, Office of the Prime Minister, 1 Bach Thao
Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
· President Tran Duc Luong c/o Ambassador Nguyen Quy Binh, Ch. François-Lehmann 18a (1er), CH-1218, Le Grand-Saconnex, Suisse, e-mail: mission.vietnam@ties.itu.int, fax: +41 22 798 07 24
Please also write to the embassies of Vietnam in your respective country.
Geneva, February 19th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Arbitrary and incommunicado detention / Ill-treatment / Risk to personal integrity
The International Secretariat of the OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Vietnam.
Brief description of the situation
The International Secretariat of the OMCT has been informed by the Agir Ensemble pour les Droits de l’Homme, a member of the OMCT network, and other reliable sources, of the denial of Thich Huyen Quang’s right to travel to Ho Chi Minh City in order to seek medical treatment as well as the incommunicado detention of Thich Quang Do, both of whom are religious leaders in Vietnam.
According to information received, 86-year old Patriarch Thich Huyen Quang, a leader of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, is suffering from a painful growth near his eye. Doctors in Quang Ngai hospital have examined him and believe that the growth may be cancerous. The doctors recommended that Mr. Quang travel to Ho Chi Minh City to undergo treatment, because the Quang Ngai hospital does not have the capability required in order to undertake such a procedure.
It is reported that on February 12th, 2003, the Quang Ngai Police rejected the recommendation of the doctors and banned Mr. Quang from leaving the province. It is reported that Mr. Huyen also suffers from high blood pressure, chronic arthritis, stomach ulcers, and that his health has been seriously deteriorating in recent times.
According to the information received, Thich Huyen Quang has been detained without trial since 1982 because he is a member of the banned United Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV). Because of poor detention conditions and a lack of medical care, it is reported that Mr. Quang’s health problems have increased during this time. He is reportedly held in a damp hut close to the Quang Phouc Pagoda, Cho Chua hamlet in a remote area of the Quang Ngai province.
According to information received, the UBCV’s deputy leader Thich Quang Do has called on the Vietnamese Government to release Thich Huyen Quang on two occasions. It is reported that he told the Government that he would bring a protest group to escort Thich Huyen Quang to Saigon if he was not released before June 7th, 2001. However, on June 1st, 2001, Thich Quang Do was arrested by the Security Police in Saigon’s Phu Nhuan district. He was reportedly sentenced to two years of administrative detention, and has been held in incommunicado detention ever since.
The International Secretariat of the OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do. The Vietnamese Government’s refusal to allow Thich Huyen Quang to travel to Ho Chi Minh City in order to receive necessary medical care is of grave concern to OMCT and represents a violation of his personal integrity, and given the possibility that he may have cancer, represents a severe risk to his health. OMCT is also greatly concerned by the incommunicado detention of Thich Quang Do, and fears that he may be being subjected to ill-treatment or torture during his detention.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in Vietnam urging them to
i. guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do;
ii. immediately allow Thich Huyen Quang to travel to Ho Chi Minh City so that he can receive the urgent medical care that he needs;
iii. call for the immediate release of both Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do;
iv. immediately release Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do;
v. guarantee adequate and appropriate reparation to Thich Huyen Quang and Thich Quang Do;
vi. guarantee the basic right to the freedom of religion and immediately put an end to the harassment and detention of religious leaders;
vii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout Vietnam in accordance with international human rights standards.
Addresses
· President Tran Duc Luong, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Office of the State, 1 Bach Thao, Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
· Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, Office of the Prime Minister, 1 Bach Thao
Hanoi, Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
· President Tran Duc Luong c/o Ambassador Nguyen Quy Binh, Ch. François-Lehmann 18a (1er), CH-1218, Le Grand-Saconnex, Suisse, e-mail: mission.vietnam@ties.itu.int, fax: +41 22 798 07 24
Please also write to the embassies of Vietnam in your respective country.
Geneva, February 19th, 2003
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.