Phạm Hồng Sơn (born c. 1969) is a Vietnamese dissident. In 2003, he was sentenced to a 5 years imprisonment for political dissent against the government of Vietnam.

Background

Son graduated from medical school as a physician, but then earned an MBA. He later worked as a business manager for a pharmaceutical company in

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

. In 2001, he became an open advocate for democracy, posting pro-democracy articles and essays to Internet forums.

Arrest and imprisonment

In early 2002, he downloaded an essay from the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

's website titled "What is Democracy?" He then translated the essay into Vietnamese and forwarded it to friends. He also translated an essay of his own, titled "Encouraging Signs of Democracy" and originally written in French, and forwarded it to both friends and Communist Party officials. On March 25, police searched Son's house and interrogated him; he was arrested without a warrant two days later. In June 2003, he was sentenced to thirteen years in prison for espionage following a half-day trial. The prosecution accused Son of contact with "political opportunists" and "reactionary forces overseas". According to

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

(HRW), his wife was the only witness called, and she was only allowed to answer two yes-or-no questions. In August, Son's sentence was reduced to five years' imprisonment. Foreign journalists and human rights observers were not allowed to attend either the original trial or the appeal.

International response

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; ; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organisation, non-governmental organization headquartered in Paris, which focuses on safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its a ...

(RSF) condemned the imprisonment of Son and fellow online activists Nguyen Khac Toan and Nguyen Vu Binh stating that the men's "only crime was to express themselves freely on the Internet". On 7 April 2006, the

US House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

passed a resolution calling for Son's release as a condition of Vietnam joining the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

. The

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

also objected on Son's behalf.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

designated Son a

prisoner of conscience A prisoner of conscience (POC) is anyone imprisoned because of their race, sexual orientation, religion, or political views. The term also refers to those who have been imprisoned or persecuted for the nonviolent expression of their conscienti ...

and described Son's espionage conviction as "a travesty of justice". HRW called for his immediate release and awarded him one of its Hellman/Hammett grants, which support persecuted writers in need of financial assistance. More than 4000 Australians signed a petition calling for Son's release. In 2005, RSF reported that Son was showing symptoms of untreated

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in prison. The

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...

also expressed concerns for Son's well-being, stating, "The harsh conditions of Pham Hong Son's imprisonment add to the cruel tally of human costs in Vietnam's continued repression of the media ... Authorities should release him immediately and without condition and give him access to urgently needed medical attention as soon as possible." In 2003, Pham Hong Son, together with Nguyen Vu Binh, Le Chi Quang and Nguyen Khac Toan, were presented with Vietnam Human Rights Award by Vietnam Human Rights Network.

Later activism

Son was released from prison on 30 August 2006 as part of a general amnesty and placed under house arrest. The amnesty came three months in advance of Vietnam's hosting an

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of ASEAN's series of post-ministerial con ...

summit in Hanoi, and Son stated to reporters that his release had been timed to improve the nation's image before the meeting. He pledged to continue working for democratic reform. On 5 April 2011, he was rearrested along with Le Quoc Quan when attempting to observe the trial of democracy activist Cu Huy Ha Vu. The pair were held for "causing public disorder". Son's wife Vu Thu Ha stated that Son had been assaulted by police with batons prior to his arrest. Both were released without charge 13 April.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pham, Hong Son Living people Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Vietnam Vietnamese democracy activists Vietnamese dissidents Vietnamese prisoners and detainees Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)