Torture ‘Widespread’ At Vietnamese Prisons

Torture, forced labor and unlawful arrests are common in Vietnam’s penal system, a French human rights group said Friday.

The Paris-based Vietnam Committee on Human Rights, citing a report by International Prison Watch, described conditions at Vietnam’s approximately 150 re-education camps as cruel and degrading.

“Torture is widespread in Vietnam’s prisons and camps,” the human rights committee said.

“Punishments frequently include beatings and systematic incarceration in solitary confinement and the use of shackles.”

The human rights report accused Vietnam of holding about 1,200 political prisoners, although other groups including Amnesty International say that number may be significantly lower.

The Vietnamese government had no immediate reaction to the report, but in the past has denied holding political prisoners and has accused human rights groups of meddling in its internal affairs.

However, a state-controlled newspaper this week carried a rare report criticizing labor camp officials.

Eight officers working at two “social centers,” as the camps are called, were criticized in connection with the deaths of at least four inmates, Liberated Saigon newspaper said.

The unexplained deaths occurred several months ago at two camps near southern Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, the newspaper said.