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VIETNAM <br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br />The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is an authoritarian state ruled by a single party, <br />the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) led by General Secretary Nguyen Phu <br />Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, and President Truong Tan Sang. The <br />most recent National Assembly elections, held in May, were neither free nor fair, <br />since the CPV's Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF), an umbrella group that monitors <br />the country's mass organizations, vetted all candidates. Security forces reported to <br />civilian authorities. <br />The most significant human rights problems in the country were severe <br />government restrictions on citizens' political rights, particularly their right to <br />change their government; increased measures to limit citizens' civil liberties; and <br />corruption in the judicial system and police. <br />Specific human rights abuses included continued police mistreatment of suspects <br />during arrest and detention, including the use of lethal force, as well as austere <br />prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and detention for political activities, and denial <br />of the right to fair and expeditious trial. Political influence, endemic corruption, <br />and inefficiency strongly distorted the judicial system. The government <br />increasingly limited privacy rights and freedoms of the press, speech, assembly, <br />movement, and association; increasingly suppressed dissent; further restricted <br />Internet freedom; reportedly was involved in attacks against critical Web sites; and <br />spied on dissident bloggers. Freedom of religion continued to be subject to uneven <br />interpretation and protection, with significant problems continuing, especially at <br />provincial and village levels. Police corruption persisted at various levels. The <br />government maintained its prohibition of independent human rights organizations. <br />Violence and discrimination against women as well as trafficking in persons <br />continued, as did sexual exploitation of children and some societal discrimination <br />based on ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, and HIV /AIDS status. <br />The government limited workers' rights to form and join independent unions and <br />inadequately enforced safe and healthy working conditions. <br />The government inconsistently took steps to prosecute and punish officials who <br />committed abuses, and members of the police sometimes acted with impunity. <br />Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from: <br />