Quach Vinh Nien, a 49-year-old political prisoner was sentenced in 1980 to life imprisonment on charges which appear to have stemmed from newspaper articles he had written. It is believed he may be a prisoner of conscience. He was arrested on 14 June 1978 and detained for two years without charge or trial. He is now being held in a “re-education” camp, no 1870 at Xuan Phuoc in Phu Khanh province, where it appears that little medical attention is available to the prisoners. Quach Vinh Nien has developed cataracts, and is reported to be blind in one eye. He also suffers from chronic arthritis, but he is still required to carry out hard labour.
