VZCZCXRO0469
PP RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHHM #0746 1931045
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121045Z JUL 07
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2874
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 2047
RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 3076

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000746 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SOCI PREL PGOV KIRF PREF VM
SUBJECT: RELEASE OF ACTIVIST BUI KIM THANH 
 
REF: A) HCMC 333; B) HCMC 232 AND PREVIOUS 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Land rights activist Bui Kim Thanh was 
released from a Dong Nai mental hospital on July 11 after 
receiving a clean bill of mental health.  Thanh had been held 
for ten months for her involvement in the land rights movement 
and for her links with the dissident Democratic Party of Vietnam 
(reftels).  We have been in direct contact with her and she 
reports that she is well and was not physically mistreated; 
however, while there are no restrictions on her activities, she 
will have to have monthly "check-ups."  The decision to release 
Thanh appeared to come from the Communist Party, despite an 
initial threat to extend her hospitalization.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) As reported in reftels, HCMC land rights activist Bui 
Kim Thanh had been confined to Central Mental Hospital Number 2 
in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, since November 2006, 
despite having no history or indication of mental illness.  On 
July 11, she was finally released from the hospital and was 
escorted out by HCMC police, representatives from the city's 
Communist Party Committee and her husband.  Thanh told Poloff on 
July 12 that, when leaving the hospital, she was handed an 
official discharge document concluding that her mental health is 
"stable," but also requiring that she undergo monthly checkups. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Thanh said that her release came as a surprise, as she 
had recently received information from sympathetic hospital 
staff indicating that the police and the HCMC Party Committee 
planned to send her to another institution in Hanoi for a 
further three months of treatment.  Thanh stated that although 
the hospital's Diagnosis Council had concluded in late June that 
she was "mentally normal," she believed that the Party's 
involvement had delayed her release. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Dr. Nguyen Van Tho, Director of the Central Mental 
Hospital, confirmed that Thanh had completed her treatment but 
refused to comment on her current mental health status.  Dr. Tho 
said that he was not part of the Diagnosis Council and would not 
comment further on the case. 
 
¶5. (SBU) According to Thanh, she survived her confinement thanks 
to assistance from supportive hospital doctors and nurses who 
provided updates on information related to her case.  Thanh 
pointed out that the hospital's Deputy Director was especially 
sympathetic and played a key role in the Diagnosis Council's 
findings.  Thanh told us that apart from initial compulsory 
medication, she was not physically harmed.  She noted, however, 
that she had lost approximately 30 pounds during her 
confinement, and attributed the weight loss to the stress 
associated with living with mental patients in a confined space. 
 
¶6. (SBU) While at the mental facility, Thanh wrote at least two 
letters saying that she would stop her role as pro bono legal 
aid provider for the land rights movement and sever all links 
with the Democratic Party of Vietnam.  She told us that she 
intends to "keep silent" for a few months in order to protect 
her family members, who have been under tremendous pressure from 
the police since her admittance to the hospital.  Although Thanh 
is not under administrative detention, she reported that police 
pressured one of her sons to quit his job to monitor her 
activities after her release. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: The fact that Party Committee personnel 
escorted Thanh from the hospital shows that there was direct 
Party involvement in this case.  During his June 27 farewell 
call on HCMC Party Secretary and Politburo member Le Thanh Hai, 
the outgoing Consul General had asked Hai to "use influence" to 
resolve this case.  The unexpected discharge, apparently heavily 
influenced by the Party, is a positive development, but the 
reasoning behind the decision to release her at this time 
remains unclear.  End comment. 
 
FAIRFAX