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VIETNAM 4 <br />UN special rapporteur on health criticized these centers as ineffective and <br />counterproductive. <br />Prison and Detention Center Conditions <br />Prison conditions were austere but generally not life threatening. Overcrowding, <br />insufficient diet, lack of access to potable water, and poor sanitation remained <br />serious problems. Prisoners generally were required to work but received no <br />wages. Authorities sometimes placed prisoners in solitary confinement, thus <br />depriving them of reading and writing materials for periods of up to several <br />months. Family members continued to make credible claims that prisoners <br />received benefits by paying bribes to prison officials or undertaking hunger strikes. <br />Prisoners had access to basic health care, although in many cases officials <br />prevented family members from providing medication to prisoners. Family <br />members of imprisoned activists who experienced health problems claimed <br />medical treatment was inadequate and resulted in greater long -term health <br />complications. In July and September, respectively, two long -term prisoners <br />convicted and jailed for attempting to overthrow the government (Nguyen Van <br />Trai, a member of the People's Action Party of Vietnam, and Truong Van Suong) <br />died in prison from liver cancer and heart disease, respectively. <br />The total number of prisoners and detainees was not publicly available. Pretrial <br />detainees were held separately from convicted prisoners. Juveniles generally were <br />held in prison separately from adults, but on rare occasions, they were held in <br />detention with adults for short periods due to the unavailability of space. Men and <br />women were held separately but treated equally. Political prisoners were typically <br />sent to specially designated prisons that also held other regular criminals, and in <br />most cases, political prisoners were kept separate from nonpolitical prisoners. <br />Authorities completely isolated some high - profile political prisoners from all <br />others. While prison sentences could be extremely lengthy, prisoners were not <br />forced to serve beyond the maximum sentence for their charged offense. <br />Authorities limited prisoners to one 30- minute family visit per month and generally <br />permitted family members to give supplemental food and bedding to prisoners. <br />Prisoners did not have the right to practice their religion in public, nor to have <br />access to religious books and scriptures, although authorities allowed Roman <br />Catholic priest and democracy activist Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly (rearrested in <br />July) to keep a Bible, pray, and give communion. Prisoners were allowed to <br />