Vietnam dissident calls for reforms during appeal

Cu Huy Can

August 2, 2011
Associated Press

his father was "one of the people who gave birth to this regime that is putting me on trial today." - Cu Huy Ha Vu

HANOI, Vietnam—The dissident son of one of Vietnam's founding revolutionaries proclaimed his innocence during an appeals trial Tuesday, saying he's not against the Communist Party but supports a multiparty system.

French-educated lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu, 53, is appealing a seven-year prison sentence received in April for conducting propaganda against the state.

He has asked the court to dismiss his case, saying he did nothing wrong and that his trial was a conspiracy against him. But prosecutors seeking to uphold the sentence said Tuesday that Vu's actions have violated national security and abused freedom of the press and speech to oppose the state.

"I did not oppose the Communist Party of Vietnam. I only demanded a multiparty system that would allow healthy competition for the ultimate interests of the people and of the nation," Vu told the court.

Twice during the proceedings, he turned to his wife and uncle seated in the courtroom gallery, holding up victory signs on both hands.

Vu is the son of Cu Huy Can, a well-known Vietnamese poet and revolutionary leader in the government formed by late President Ho Chi Minh when he declared independence from France in 1945.

His arrest and initial sentencing was the subject of much Internet chatter because of his family's prominence, with many arguing the sentence, which includes an additional three years of house arrest, was too harsh.

Vietnam does not tolerate any challenge to its one-party rule, but Hanoi maintains that only lawbreakers are punished. Vu's case is a new test for the government because it is cracking down on a family known throughout Vietnam for its allegiance to the country.

"My family of four generations has been fighting for and dying for the country," Vu said, adding that his father was "one of the people who gave birth to this regime that is putting me on trial today."

Foreign media and diplomats were not allowed into the courtroom but were instead permitted to watch the proceedings via closed-circuit television from an adjacent room.

About a dozen of Vu's supporters gathered in front of the Hanoi courthouse before police sealed off the area. One woman waved a placard that read: "My brother is innocent."

"Dr. Vu was jailed for political reasons in a trial that violated his rights," Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch in Bangkok said in a statement. "Vietnamese authorities should at least do the right thing now with a fair and independent appeals hearing."

Vu has a law doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris, but is not licensed to practice in Vietnam. He has twice tried to sue Vietnam's prime minister, once over a controversial Chinese-built bauxite mining project and another time after the premier blocked class-action lawsuits from being filed. Both cases were thrown out of court.

During the trial in April, one of Vu's defense attorneys was ejected and the other three walked out in protest after repeatedly asking the judge to read in full or provide copies of 10 interviews Vu gave to foreign media, which were used as key evidence against him.

"I'm determined to fight for and die for this country," Vu told the court.