Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Vietnam to try dissidents for subversion

Le Cong Dinh, a Fulbright scholar, was the deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association from 2005 to 2008. (TUOI TRE)

Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Compiled by Thuy Hang
Vietnewsonline.vn


Four Vietnamese dissidents charged with “subversive activities” against the government will stand trial in a case that attracted international attention on Wednesday.

Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court put the four defendants, including prominent lawyer Le Cong Dinh, on trial on charges of “acting to overthrow the people’s administration” under Article 79 of the Vietnam Criminal Code.

The two-day trial is expected to draw some 60 local and international correspondents and representatives from embassies, consulates and foreign diplomatic agencies.

The dissidents were arrested originally on charges of “distributing anti-government material” under Article 88 of the Criminal Code. A conviction on a conspiracy charge can result in a jail sentence of three to 20 years.

Meanwhile, a conviction on the subversion charge can result in a jail sentence of five years to death penalty.

According to the indictment, 43-year-old Tran Dinh Duy Thuc, the former director of an IT company, in late 2005 set up a reactionary organization, inciting others to take part in the group.

Thuc connived with the banned “Democratic Party of Vietnam” to organize activities, including posting articles with “anti-state” content on three blogs.

On May 24, 2009, Thuc was arrested while he was using the internet to link up with “overseas reactionary forces,” according to police.

Based on Thuc’s statement and documents seized, police arrested Le Thang Long, director of an IT company on June 4, and high-profile lawyer Le Cong Dinh on June 13, 2009.

The agency then arrested Nguyen Tien Trung and Tran Anh Kim on July 7, 2009.

Tran Anh Kim was sentenced to five and a half years in jail by the People's Court of northern Thai Binh Province on December 28, 2009.

Le Cong Dinh, 41, a Fulbright scholar, was the deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association from 2005 to 2008 and is known as one of the top lawyers in Vietnam in the field of international trade.

Dinh was accused of attending a training course on non-violent political change organized by reactionary organization Viet Tan in Thailand.

The indictment says Dinh also took part in drafting a new constitution for Vietnam, and kept anti-government document.

Nguyen Tien Trung was accused of establishing a reactionary group while he was studying in France in 2006 and joining the banned Democratic Party of Vietnam.

Le Thang Long was accused of joining the dissident group established by Tran Huynh Duy Thuc.

3 comments:

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Anonymous said...

don't worry about this crooked, they just trying to get out of vietnam to USA complaining about they 've been prisonned for politic view. once those viet got US citizen they go back to their country, that's alot viet did. don't fall in their dirty viet tricks.

Anonymous said...

same as those hun xhit supporters.

when they are desperate in wanting to get out, they would use sam rainsy name but once there they turn against sam rainsy and get back to cambodia. no shame.