Son La Prison, constructed by the French colonists in 1908, initially covered an area of 500 sq.m., primarily used for incarcerating ordinary prisoners. On February 3, 1930, the Communist Party of Vietnam was founded, beginning the leadership role in the national revolutionary movement.
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Sr. Lt. Gen. Vongkham Phommakone visits the special national historical site of Son La Prison. |
To suppress the revolutionary movement, the French colonialists expanded the Son La Prison by an additional 1,500 sq.m in late 1930 and 1,700 sq.m. in 1940. Notably, during the expansion, the French colonists also built an underground prison facility, which was 3m under the ground level, concealed beneath a kitchen area. This underground prison system consisted of five individual cells and two collective cells, including one completely devoid of natural light.
From 1930 to 1945, the French colonialists detained 14 groups totaling 1,013 prisoners at Son La Prison, including many important personnel of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Son La Prison became a great revolutionary school training cadres for the Party and the Vietnamese revolution, with notable cadres such as To Hieu, Le Duan, Truong Chinh, Nguyen Luong Bang, Van Tien Dung, and Le Duc Tho.
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Sr. Lt. Gen. Vongkham Phommakone and the Lao delegation learning about the stories of the indomitable struggle of Vietnamese revolutionaries |
Visiting the special national historical site of Son La Prison, Senior Lieutenant General Vongkham Phommakone expressed admiration for the indomitable spirit and unwavering struggle of Vietnamese revolutionaries.
Translated by Trung Thanh