Vietnam sentences land protesters to prison
HANOI - Two Vietnamese men were handed stiff prison sentences by the communist
government for staging a protest on land rights, state-run media said
Tuesday.
Pham Trong Son and Nguyen Thi Thao were sentenced three years and 20
months in prison, respectively, after being convicted of disturbing
public order by organizing a protest, reported Lao Dong (Labor)
newspaper. A third protester was given probation.
The three organized a protest at the low amount of state compensation
for their land being seized for a public project in Ho Chi Minh City.
They gathered dozens of supporters and raised banners and posters of
revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh and shouted at police who came to
disperse them, court officials said last week.
Though still rare, there have been an increasing number of public
protests in Vietnam since the communist government instituted a system
allowing citizens to make complaints and petitions.
Last May, Communist Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh commented on
the protests ahead of the National Assembly elections, saying "our
democracy has become excessive."
Deutsche Presse Agentur - October 1st, 2002
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