of Vietnam's immigration/emigration laws would be tired in open court and would not be harshly punished.
After the 118 had been repatriated, it was found that one member, who had given a false name in Hong Kong, had previously been condemned to death on smuggling charges. He has since been re-tried and sentenced, instead, to life imprisonment. About 29 of the remaining 117 (comprising
women, children and old people) have now been released, and the remainder are being held in prisons in or near Saigon while they await trial. The group have thus all left Con
Son Island.
Following further approaches by HM Ambassador in Saigon, the Vietnamese Government issued on 30 July the following
statement:-
"The British Ambassador called to express his
Government's concern about the apparently conflicting press reports of the assurances given to the British and Hong Kong Governments about the 118 illegal immigrants repatriated from Hong Kong.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Vietnam reaffirmed to the British Ambassador in the Republic of Vietnam what he had already informed the Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, Mr Hattersley: namely that the 118 illegal emigrants who had been repatriated from Hong Kong are being treated fairly and will be tried in open court in the normal way according to the laws of this country. It is not expected that these illegal emigrants would receive any exceptional punishment."
Furthermore, the Vietnamese Minister for Information
recently replied to a telegram from Amnesty International
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