November, 5, 2009 - Vu Hung, a teacher and pro-democracy activist has been on hunger strike since October 7, 2009 after Hanoi authorities sentenced Hung to three years's imprisonment and three year of "house arrest". His life is in danger due to serious illness and month-long hunger strike.

On Wednesday November 4, 2009, his wife Mrs. Ly Thi Tuyet Mai came to visit him at New Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi, she was told Vu Hung was no longer available to see her. But reliable sources told her, due to his health has deteriorated rapidly, fearing Vu Hung's life is in danger, the prison guards have rushed him to the hospital.

To protest the unfair and unjust verdict, Vu Hung staged hunger strike since then. Currently, Vu Hung is probably taken to a Ministry of Public Security's Hospital 198 in Hanoi for urgent treatment after he has totally collapsed due to hunger strike almost 30 days in New Hoa Lo prison.

Vu Hung also protests Vietnam jail's conditions where the government has used prison system to terrorize and dehumanize the pro-democracy activists. In New Hoa Lo prison and all of other Vietnam prison camps, many hard core criminals are being jailed together with the political prisoners in small and dirty cell. In very common case, prison guards use criminal prisoners to beat and intimidate political prisoners. No TV, printed materials, books or magazines allow to watch and read except the mouth-piece of the Communist Party "Nhan Dan" newspaper.

Recently, on October, 7 2009, around 40 political and religious prisoners in Z30A Prison Camp in Xuan Loc district,Dong Nai province had staged a hunger strike to protest the ruthless and inhuman conditions of Vietnam's jail. They demand to have rights to read newspapers and watch news other than routine official voice newspaper of the Communist Party. They also want to have a library and allow times for political and religious prisoners to read news. Due to this daring protest, many political prisoners as Dr. Le Nguyen Sang, lawyer Tran Quoc Hien, lawyer Nguyen Bac Truyen, Mr. Truong Quoc Huy and religious prisoners as Mr. Quynh Anh, Mr. Tran Huu Canh all were locked into solitary confinement and denied visit times from their relatives.

The People's Democratic Party calls on the Hanoi authorities to release teacher Vu Hung immediately for urgent medical treatment, to respect human rights, to end"torture", cruel and inhuman prison's policy in ill-treatment and punishment of the political and religious prisoners.(1)

Tran, Nam

Spokesperson of the People's Democratic Party

 

(1)Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights)

Article 1

1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.