August 19, 2010
Dear friends,
I am writing this letter to inform you of the Vietnamese government’s acts of harassment which aim to terrorise and diminish the psychological well-being of my family members.
When my brother Pham Minh Hoang was arrested and interrogated by the public security police (PSP) of Vietnam, my eldest sister Pham Thi Uyen, a French citizen, was in Saigon to care for our parents who feel very weak while approaching the age of 90.
According to Uyen’s travel arrangements, she was to fly to France on 17 August 2010 from Saigon to Paris via Ha Noi. However, on the morning of 18 August when her children went to pick her up at the airport in Paris, they waited in vain as she did not show up. Worried, they proceeded to the Vietnam Airlines desk to enquire whether Uyen was among the passenger flight list. Vietnam Airlines refused to provide any answer. My nieces and nephews had no other option except to report Uyen as a missing person to the French police, particularly when they had no news from her while she did leave Saigon. It is only several hours later that we were informed that Uyen’s “flight was delayed in Ha Noi” and that she was expected to arrive in France on 19 August.
In reality, Uyen’s flight was not delayed. Upon her arrival in Paris, Uyen informed her children that on 17 August, the flight from Saigon to Ha Noi was on schedule. However, when she arrived at Noi Bai Airport around 10:00 pm and was prepared for boarding to France, the PSP detained her just as she was entering the inspection station for passport control. They escorted her to an interrogation room where she was questioned until 2:00 am. The following day, the interrogation continued from 8:00 am to approximately 3:00 pm. The content revolved around the history of our family. There were 4 to 5 PSP officers who alternated to question her on the same issue. In the end, as they were not able to get any good reason to supplement Hoang’s investigation file and as they had not provided any formal statement explaining Uyen’s arrest and interrogation, the PSP released Uyen and let her try to get a new ticket back to Paris by herself. At the ticket counter, Uyen was offered an airfare to Paris for the overwhelming price of 2,000 USD. She then had to beg at the counter so that an agent managed to get her a cheaper fare – which Uyen was still unable to pay. The agent then agreed to grant Uyen a 4 million VND loan so that my sister could return to France!!!
When describing the details of this incident, it is my intention to act on my family’s behalf to denounce the deplorable tactics utilized by the PSP to harass innocent people in Vietnam. If the PSP really suspected my sister or wanted to question her in relation to Hoang’s case, then why did they not ask her to come for interrogation while she was in Saigon? They were intentionally deceitful, allowing my sister to leave Saigon as normal but then arresting and detaining her at 10:00 pm, interrogating her almost all night and making it impossible for her to board her flight; afterwards, due to the PSP’s irresponsible conduct, Uyen was forced to manage on her own amidst completely unfamiliar surroundings in her attempt to return to France.
Apart from Uyen’s disagreeable encounter, the PSP continue to harass and summon my sister-in-law Le Thi Kieu Oanh, Pham Minh Hoang’s spouse, for interrogation almost on a daily basis. Although Oanh has openly expressed that she needs to care for her 6-year old daughter, Tram Anh, and her nearly 90-year old elderly weak parents-in-law, the PSP remain heartlessly insensitive and persistently persecute her. They deliberately harass Oanh in order to put pressure on her, adversely affecting her mental health.
If the PSP may mistreat a person of French nationality such as Uyen, it is undoubtedly evident that citizens of Vietnam may be far more mistreated. It is the reason why I am writing this letter so as to raise the world public awareness regarding the possibility that the Vietnamese government will increasingly take revenge and intensify its terrorising acts against our family in Vietnam in the forthcoming days. My sister-in-law Oanh, my 6 year old niece and my elderly parents of 90 are undoubtedly subject to substantial threats and terrorising attacks by the state.
By sincerely informing the global community and raising awareness of the public opinion, we hope everyone will feel deeply concerned by our family’s current situation; it is only with your help and support that my brother Hoang can be released in a near future and be allowed to return home and live peacefully with his spouse, daughter and parents.
On behalf of my sister, Pham Thi Uyen, and the immediate family of my brother, Pham Minh Hoang,
PHAM DUY KHANH
