France to send doctor to Viet jail
PARIS - France is sending an embassy doctor to examine a French national jailed in Vietnam for possessing medication illegal in that country.
A French Foreign Ministry spokesman said during a Monday briefing to the press that it was awaiting authorization to send a doctor from the French Embassy in Vietnam to examine Van Huong Pham.
Of Vietnamese origin but with French citizenship, he was arrested late July for possessing prescription medications outlawed in Vietnam but legal in France. His family says he suffers from severe back pains.
A French consul is expected to accompany the French embassy doctor, once Vietnamese give the green light for a medical examination of the French citizen.
"We remain completely mobilized to wield our consular protection toward this compatriot," the Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
United Press International - August 08, 2005.
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