Phu Quoc Prison ( vi, Nhà tù Phú Quốc, links=no) is a military prison in

Phú Quốc Phú Quốc () is the largest island in Vietnam. Phú Quốc and nearby islands, along with the distant Thổ Chu Islands, are part of Kiên Giang Province as Phú Quốc City, the island has a total area of and a permanent population of appro ...

, southern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

(today it is in Kiên Giang Province. The prison was built in 1949–1950 by French colonialists as a place to detain political dissidents. During the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, it was used for detention of captured

Viet Cong , , war = the Vietnam War , image = FNL Flag.svg , caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green. , active ...

and

North Vietnam North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; vi, Việt Nam Dân chủ Cộng hòa), was a socialist state supported by the Soviet Union (USSR) and the People's Republic of China (PRC) in Southeast Asia that existed f ...

ese soldiers. Many of the high ranking leaders of Vietnam were detained here. It is ranked a special historical relic of national significance by the government of Vietnam. The prison covers an area of . The prison was closed after the country united, but is currently open for visitors.

Abusive Treatment of POWs in Phu Quoc Prison

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

team visited Phu Quoc Prison in 1969 and 1972. Inspections from the ICRC found that many POWs showed signs of inadequate food supplies, poor medical care, and physical beatings.

References

External links

Phu Quoc Prison web site
Buildings and structures in Kiên Giang province Defunct prisons in Vietnam War crimes in Vietnam Vietnam War prisoner-of-war camps Vietnam War sites Torture in Vietnam Vietnam War crimes by South Vietnam {{KienGiang-geo-stub