US embassy cable - 04HANOI1649

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001649 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL AND EAP/BCLTV 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PINS, VM, HIV/AIDS 
SUBJECT: BA SAO PRISON:  A PREVIEW 
 
REF: A. HANOI 059 B. HANOI 638 C. HANOI 1562 
 
1.  (U)  Summary.  The Ha Nam (more commonly called Ba Sao) 
prison that A/S Craner may visit on June 18 appears a model 
facility, with clean if Spartan cells and extensive grounds. 
It holds a relatively high number of recidivists; a plurality 
of prisoners were convicted on narcotics charges.  Activists 
Pham Hong Son and Le Chi Quang are definitely held here, and 
were described as both in good health.  Prisoners do not have 
access to religious services or workers.  Central GVN 
authorities will make the decision about whether A/S Craner 
can visit prisoners of concern or not. End summary. 
 
2.  (U)  Pol/C joined with a group of EU diplomats -- from 
Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, 
Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK -- for a 
visit to "Ha Nam Detention Camp" in Ba Sao village, Ha Nam 
province on June 9.  This is the prison where Senator 
Brownback visited Father Nguyen Van Ly in January (ref a) and 
where we have asked permission for DRL A/S Craner be allowed 
to see prisoner(s) of concern such as Le Chi Quang, Nguyen Vu 
Binh, and Pham Hong Son during his June 18 visit to Hanoi. 
Superintendent Duong Duc Thang (who also received Senator 
Brownback) confirmed that Son and Quang were incarcerated 
here (he did not mention Binh) and claimed that both were in 
good health.  He specifically said that reports of Quang's 
medical problem reaching abroad were "not based on reality." 
(Ref c provides some comments by relatives inmates on 
conditions in the camp.) 
 
3.  (U)  Superintendent Thang insisted that this was a 
"detention camp" rather than a "prison," based on 
distinctions laid out in 1993 regulations; previously, this 
and similar facilities were labeled "education camps," he 
noted.  He highlighted the key task of educating the 
approximately 2000 prisoners about the law and their 
responsibilities to society, as well as reforming them 
whenever possible into useful citizens able to make economic 
contributions to the nation.  He claimed that all camps in 
the Vietnamese penal system have an explicit duty to "protect 
the dignity" of prisoners.  He said that, unusually, this 
camp has prisoners whose sentences range from one year to 
life.  (Note:  Unlike the Class I prison we visited in March 
-- ref b -- where prisoners all had sentences of over 15 
years, or the Class II prison we visited in 2003, where 
sentences were under 15 years.  End note)  He explained that 
Ba Sao was the camp where the GVN often sent recidivists, who 
make up about 30 pct of the camp population.  He confirmed 
that all prisoners had already been sentenced by a court when 
they arrive; the camp does not hold pre-trial detainees or 
those convicted of a death sentence.  Only men are held here, 
and ages run between 18 and about 60 years old.  There have 
not been any foreign prisoners held here "in a long time," he 
claimed. (Note:  Amcit Ly Tong was imprisoned here until his 
release in the late 1990's, and conoffs were able to visit 
him regularly. End note) 
 
4.  (U)  The camp is divided into at least three 
geographically separate sub-camps, and has existed about 40 
years.  Superintendent Thang said that the GVN had spent over 
7 billion dong (approximately USD 446,000) renovating the 
camp structures in recent years.  Communal cells were Spartan 
but clean and housed about 60 inmates, who sleep on adjacent 
mats on a concrete floor.  The State each year provides two 
sets of clothing and underwear, a blanket, mat, sandals, and 
soap.  Families are able to provide higher quality bedding 
and clothes for off-hours, he noted. 
 
5.  (U)  Food rations (rice, meat, fish sauce, etc.) are set 
by the state for all inmates, with additional food provided 
on holidays at the Tet lunar festivities, and the prison is 
often able to add to these minimum levels with revenue earned 
from prison labor.  At Ba Sao, prisoners engage in vocational 
labor (we witnessed them weaving straw doormats), including 
agricultural production.  Prisoners work 8 hours a day (with 
a two hour break for lunch and siesta) and have Sundays and 
holidays off, Superintendent Thang explained.  He confirmed 
that they did not/not receive wages. 
 
6.  (U)  About 35 pct of all prisoners had been convicted on 
narcotics-related charges (a notable increase, he admitted, 
which followed national trends) and about 10 pct had tested 
positive for HIV.  He insisted that all prisoners were tested 
upon arrival, and that those who were HIV  were so informed, 
received medication, and integrated into the general camp 
population.  Rudimentary health care is available from prison 
doctors and nurses; more serious cases are taken to 
provincial or even central-level hospitals, he noted.  The 
300 prison officials and guards make an effort to group 
people into cells based at least in part by native provinces, 
he added.  There are regular soccer games, with teams having 
a mix between guards and prisoners.  Other cultural 
activities (singing, reading) are also available after work 
hours, and inmates can watch TV in their communal cell or 
listen to Voice of Vietnam radio.  There are no plans to 
install Internet access for inmate use, the Superintendent 
admitted. 
 
7.  (U)  As a general rule, close family members (parents, 
spouses, children, siblings) may visit prisoners once a 
month, and may bring or send gifts and letters.  Prisoners 
whose behavior has been exemplary may spent overnight in a 
special room with their spouses (and children, if desired), 
the Superintendent explained.  For prisoners who misbehave, 
there are four levels of punishment: 
--  warning; 
--  cessation of family visits; 
--  isolation in the "House of Discipline," sometimes with 
shackles, and sometimes for as long as two months (but "not 
many" at any given time); and, 
--  sue them in a Vietnamese court (i.e. add to their prison 
sentences). 
He denied corporal punishment.  Prisoners who believe they 
are being mistreated have the right to complain to the next 
higher level, ultimately up to the Minister of Public 
Security, or to the provincial or central prosecutor's 
office, the Superintendent claimed.  On the other hand, 
prisoners who behave well can be recommended for amnesties by 
the court, he added. 
 
8.  (U)  Superintendent Thang said that penal regulations 
"did not provide for" visits to religious prisoners by monks, 
priests, or pastors and so were not offered.  He said, 
however, that the camp regularly brought in outside experts 
to lecture on other topics as part of the education process. 
 
9.  (U)  Comment:  The structure and activities of this camp 
appeared virtually identical to those we have previously 
visited, and likely reflect a standardized approach to penal 
oversight and conditions, not surprising in this centralized 
system.  It is not possible to confirm that egregious 
conditions do not exist elsewhere, however.  Whether A/S 
Craner will be allowed to visit prisoners of concern here 
will be a matter for central authorities -- not the camp 
officials -- to decide for political reasons. 
PORTER