30 April 2008

Alert

Dissident writer in psychiatric detention apparently without medical cause; WiPC calls for her release

Incident details

Bui Kim Thành

writer(s)

detained

(WiPC/IFEX) - WiPC is seriously concerned for the well-being of Bui Kim Thành, Internet writer, dissident and lawyer, who has reportedly been held in psychiatric detention since 6 March 2008, apparently without any medical basis. The WiPC fears that Bui Kim Thành may be held for her writings and activism, and if so, calls for her immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a signatory.

Bui Kim Thành, aged 49, is a human rights lawyer, Internet writer and member of the banned Democratic Party of Vietnam. She was taken to the Bien Hoa Mental Hospital by police, after they broke into her house in Ho Chi Minh City. The hospital is located about 30km north of Saigon, south of the country. Neither her relatives nor human rights advocates have been allowed to visit her at the hospital, and there are serious concerns for her well-being.

Source

International PEN Writers in Prison Committee
Brownlow House
50-51 High Holborn
London WC1V 6ER
United Kingdom
wipc (@) internationalpen.org.uk
Phone: +44 20 74050338
Fax: +44 20 74050339