EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 33/17

(2004/C 33 E/016)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-3307/02

by Marco Cappato (NI) to the Commission

(14 November 2002)

Subject: Four-year prison sentence for the cyber-dissident Le Chi Quang

The Vietnamese ‘cyber-dissident’ Le Chi Quang, accused of publishing criticism of the communist regime on the Internet, has been jailed for 4 years by a Hanoi court for ‘offences against the State and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’. Foreign journalists were not allowed to attend the trial, which lasted only a few hours.

Le Chi Quang was arrested on 21 February 2002 at an internet café in Hanoi and has since been detained in the ‘B14’ prison accused of circulating via the Internet a letter on the situation in the border regions with China. The letter was addressed to the Chinese President Jiang Zemin on the occasion of an official visit to Vietnam. The 32 year old IT professor accused Hanoi of having made territorial concessions to China when negotiating the common borders. He also circulated on the Internet some documents in support of democracy.

Since June, free access to the Internet and satellite television has been reserved for Communist Party and Vietnamese government cadres, while those responsible for cybercafés have been required to monitor how their clients use the Internet. France has reportedly provided the Vietnamese government with control systems for Internet access free of charge.

Did the Commission ask to attend Le Chi Quang's trial? What steps has the Commission taken or does it intend to take to secure the immediate release of Mr Le Chi Quang and the review of his trial on the basis of the relevant international standards? What control mechanisms has the Commission established to ensure that EU funded or co-funded development and cooperation programmes are not used by the Vietnamese authorities to implement anti-democratic and repressive policies, such as the recent measures concerning the use of Internet?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 2002)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to Written Question E-2854/02 by Mr Pannella (1).

The Commission did not request to be present at the trial of Mr Quang, nor was it informed in advance of its date and place. It is not customary for the Commission to attend trials of Vietnamese citizens as official observers.

Promotion of human rights and democracy and of good governance were identified as cross-cutting themes in the Country Strategy for Vietnam approved by the Commission in May 2002. In this context, the Commission and the Member States have welcomed the elaboration by the Government of Vietnam of a Master Plan for legal reform based on a ‘Legal Needs Assessment’ prepared in collaboration with the international donor community.

All projects and programmes supported by the Commission in Vietnam, as in other countries, are subject to a rigorous process of — financial and other — checks and balances, including for compliance with Union policy on human rights and democracy.

In addition, the Commission has obtained confirmation that there is no foundation for the suggestion referred to by the Honourable Member that the French Government has supplied the Government of Vietnam with control systems for the Internet.

(1) OJ C 192 E, 14.8.2003, p. 82.