Pham Hong Son

Profession: Internet publisher.

Date of arrest: 27 March 2002 

Sentence: Thirteen years' imprisonment and three years' house arrest.

Details of arrest: Convicted on espionage charges for his pro-democracy activities, including using email to "translate and send anti-Party documents and anti-government documents" to colleagues abroad.

Details of trial: In an appeal hearing on 26 August 2003, the Hanoi Supreme Court upheld the conviction against internet publisher Pham Hong Son, but reduced his sentence from thirteen to five years imprisonment. Son will still be required to serve three years of administrative detention (house arrest) upon his release from prison.

Professional details: Pham Hong Son, aged thirty-seven, is a medical doctor by training, but since 2001 has dedicated himself to writing and translating pro-democracy articles and posting them on various overseas websites.

Other information: Married with two sons aged seven and five, Son has been forbidden from receiving family visits during detention. He is a recipient of the 2003 Hellman/Hammett awards for persecuted writers.

Released: 2 September 2006