US embassy cable - 04HANOI638

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000638 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL AND EAP/BCLTV 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PINS, PGOV, SNAR, SOCI, VM, CNARC, CTERR, HUMANR 
SUBJECT:  A PRISON FOR THE WORST OFFENDERS 
 
REF:  A.  02 HANOI 2942     B.  02 HANOI 2407 
 
1.  (U)  Summary.  At what was described as only one of two 
prisons nationwide for serious male criminal offenders, 
conditions were basic, clean, and orderly.  Prisoners must 
work without pay on prison farms, which produce most of the 
prison food.  Almost 40 pct of the prisoners were convicted 
on narcotics-related charges; about 25 pct are HIV-positive 
and receive some basic treatment.  Officials insisted that 
corporal punishment was "never" used, and that discipline 
was good.  It is not impossible that this may be only a 
Potemkin-type prison (probably at least spruced up for our 
visit), but it seems even more likely that prison conditions 
reflect a highly organized and regulated penal system.  The 
real penal problem in Vietnam is not bad prison conditions 
per se but the weak judicial system that decides the fates 
of prisoners.  End Summary. 
 
Breakthrough visit 
------------------ 
 
2.  (U)  Officials from the Ministries of Public Security 
and Foreign Affairs on March 2 escorted Pol/C, poloff, and 
FSN to Vinh Quang prison in Vinh Phuc province, about a two- 
hour drive northwest of Hanoi.  After visits in 2002 to 
Class 2 (aka Class B) prisons -- for prisoners with 
sentences between 5 and 20 years -- in Thanh Hoa (ref a) and 
Hai Duong (ref B), Embassy in December 2002 formally 
requested permission to visit a Class 1 prison -- for 
prisoners with sentences between fifteen years and life.  It 
took fourteen months to obtain permission. 
 
3.  (U)  According to Vinh Quang Prison Superintendent Tran 
Manh Hung, no foreign diplomats had ever visited this 
prison, nor had there ever been any foreign prisoners.  (A 
delegation of Danish lawyers visited in 2003, however, 
bringing donations of clothing and other items.)  He 
explained that Vinh Quang was only one of two Class 1 
prisons nationwide, with the other in "the south" (he 
declined to say where).  The prison was initially built in 
1972, although most of the buildings appeared much newer. 
Superintendent Hung explained that the GVN was in the midst 
of a US$60 million program to improve prisons nationwide; 
Vinh Quang is also building new cellblocks to replace older 
facilities, as he showed our delegation.  He instructed us 
not to take photographs (although one young official 
videotaped virtually the entire visit and subsequent 
luncheon) or attempt to talk to prisoners. 
 
New realities of narcotics and HIV 
---------------------------------- 
 
4.  (U)  Currently, there are "about" 800 prisoners between 
the ages of 18 and 75; the number has grown steadily in the 
30 years Superintendent Hung has worked there.  Between 30 
and 40 pct of all prisoners were convicted on narcotics- 
related charges, he noted, about a 50 pct increase over the 
past decade.  Those addicted to narcotics essentially must 
go cold turkey, with some help from acupuncture and other 
traditional treatments.  He insisted that there had never 
been an incident of drug trafficking or use within the 
prison, and claimed that it was "unthinkable" that corrupt 
guards would ever engage in such illicit trade or turn a 
blind eye.  Family visitors are carefully searched, he 
noted.  Families are allowed to visit only once a month, but 
may do so pretty much at their own convenience, he added. 
 
5.  (U) Another recent development related to previous 
narcotics use is the growing number of HIV-positive 
prisoners, now running about 25 pct of the total prison 
population.  Superintendent Hung said that the prison's 
first case was detected only about three years ago. 
Prisoners are tested upon arrival, and are informed whether 
or not they are infected.  They, too, receive some basic 
treatment at the small prison infirmary, which has a doctor, 
a pharmacist, and several nurses, and which provides both 
Western and Asian drugs.  More serious cases (i.e. 
operations) are sent to the provincial hospital or to Hanoi. 
All medical care is free.  Other common ailments include 
pneumonia and Hepatitis-B.  Prison officials warned against 
contact with prisoners at the infirmary, claiming 
"contagious diseases."  Prisoners with HIV are not 
segregated.  Those in the final stages of AIDS are sometimes 
sent home to die, according to the Superintendent. 
 
Basic conditions for Vietnam's worst offenders 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
6.  (U)  Security did not appear notably tighter at Vinh 
Quang than at the Thanh Hoa Class 2 prison; the external 
wall and front gate differed from most government facilities 
only by the barbed wire at the top.  Around the dormitory 
cellblock is yet another taller fence, with sentries posted 
atop at each corner.  Guards (who were numerous) did not 
appear to be armed.  The grounds were clean (perhaps spruced 
up for this visit), and dotted with trees, ornamental 
plants, and ponds. 
 
7.  (U)  Prisoners sleep 30 to a room, atop woven mats on 
double-deck platforms.  The prison supplies winter covers 
(like duvets), although families may also provide better 
quality ones or additional blankets.  The prison also 
provides two sets of the distinctively stripped uniforms 
(and two sets of underwear) per year, but prisoners may wear 
personal clothes (i.e. jackets) in the evenings and on 
weekends.  Each prisoner has a small box with a lock for 
personal possessions.  Each cell has a small bathroom for 
common use.  Windows are barred.  There is one small 
television per room. 
 
8.  (U) Prisoners not only elect a cell leader but also rate 
each other by vote as "good," "fair," "average," or "poor" 
in their behavior.  The 20 pct or so who are "good" may be 
rewarded with conjugal overnight visits in a separate "Room 
of Happiness."  (The Superintendent added that prisoners who 
are HIV-positive, however, are not permitted conjugal 
visits.)  Other prisoners receive family members in an 
adjacent room, in which a double screen physically separates 
them from their loved ones, under the supervision of a 
guard.  The ten to fifteen pct who are judged "poor" are 
"never" subject to physical punishment, Superintendent Hung 
insisted.  While claiming that there were no cells for 
solitary confinement, "exceptionally" bad prisoners were 
sometimes "isolated," he admitted, without further 
explanation. 
 
Work, with weekends off 
----------------------- 
 
9.  (U)  All prisoners must work, with no pay.  Unlike other 
facilities that have some modest industries (i.e., sewing at 
the Thanh Hoa prison) or vocational training, the only 
occupation at Vinh Quang is to manage the prison's 
apparently extensive farms and lakes.  Prisoners work in the 
fields growing rice and vegetables, and also raise fish, 
chicken, ducks, pork, and cattle.  (Some prisoners also 
appeared to be cutting rocks.)  According to Superintendent 
Hung, much of the food consumed in prison was produced on 
the prison grounds.  Meals are sent to the individual 
cellblocks. 
 
10.  (U)  Superintendent Hung said that prisoners in theory 
work an eight hour day, with a two hour luncheon/siesta 
break, although in reality they often work no more than six 
hours.  Weekends are free for sports (with frequent soccer 
games between prisoners and guards), "cultural activities," 
reading, etc.  Superintendent Hung claimed "good relations" 
between the prisoners and the guards, who also reside on the 
premises (without family members), albeit in different (and 
better) quarters.  Prisoners may send and receive mail, and 
are able to purchase small items (cigarettes, soap, cookies, 
sugar) at the prison, or their families may supply such 
items.  Few prisoners smoke tobacco, however, the 
Superintendent claimed. 
 
No political prisoners here 
--------------------------- 
 
11.  (U)  Apart from narcotics, murder was another frequent 
crime, Superintendent Hung stated.  He insisted that there 
were no prisoners convicted on charges related to "national 
security," "national solidarity," or "espionage."  All 
prisoners at this facility, however, have lost the right to 
vote or to be a candidate in elections.  None of the 
prisoners at Vinh Quang were included on this year's Tet 
amnesty, although the Superintendent predicted that some 
would be on the April 30 "Liberation Day" holiday.  In 2003, 
12 prisoners were released and 400 received sentence 
reductions (sometimes only a month or so) in various 
amnesties, according to the Superintendent. 
 
12.  (U)  The goal of the State was to "re-educate" all 
prisoners, according to Superintendent Hung.  All new 
arrivals go through a basic 7 to 10 day training course to 
learn prison regulations and values.  A large sign in the 
dormitory block provides basic instructions: "First learn 
obedience, then study culture."  Illiterate prisoners -- who 
are few, according to the Superintendent -- are taught to 
read. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
13.  (U)  This Class 1 prison was clean, orderly, but 
equipped with fairly basic amenities, and very much 
resembled the Class 2 prisons we have visited.  Given the 
generally acceptable conditions (which may have been 
improved for this visit), it is somewhat puzzling that the 
GVN was so slow to permit a visit, other than the simple 
lack of precedent.  The timing of the visit just after the 
release of the 2003 Human Rights Report was especially 
ironic; the Superintendent noted with displeasure the HRR 
and its descriptions of prisons.  Pol/C emphasized to prison 
officials and the MPS and MFA representatives that only by 
more visits would we be able more accurately to report on 
prison conditions and regulations, and that more access and 
openness would befit the improving relations between our two 
countries. 
 
14. (U)  The prison did have somewhat the atmosphere of a 
Potemkin village;  we saw no more than 50 prisoners all 
together (about 20 in the new entrants' class, about a dozen 
in the kitchen and at the health clinic, and a very few 
working in the adjacent fields).  With grounds of over 260 
hectares, it is not impossible that others were working 
farther away, but it did seem odd to see so few people out 
of such a large prison population.  It also is hard to 
believe that there are only two facilities in the entire 
nation for crimes of more than 15 years. 
 
15.  (U)  Given the GVN's penchant for supervision, it is 
not unlikely that the well-ordered prison reflects an 
extensive system of regulations.  The Superintendent's 
claims that space per prisoner as well as daily amounts of 
rice, meat, and vegetables are all set by the State seem 
credible.  Overall, the more serious penal problem in 
Vietnam appears not with actual prison conditions, but 
rather with the weak judicial processes and insufficient 
respect by judicial and police officials for the rights of 
defendants that decide the fates of prisoners. 
BURGHARDT