Vietnam internet dissident sentenced to 13 years
HANOI - A Vietnamese doctor,
accused of publishing anti-government
texts on the Internet including a translated
U.S. essay on democracy, was sentenced
on Wednesday to 13 years in jail for spying,
a Hanoi court said.
"Pham Hong Son was sentenced to 13
years in prison for espionage and he will
be subjected to three years of
administrative detention at his residence
after serving the prison sentence," the
Hanoi People's Court said in a statement.
Reuters - June 18, 2003.
Vietnam net dissident jailed
A Vietnamese doctor accused of
spying and using the internet to
spread criticism of the
government has been sentenced
to 13 years in jail.
The court in Hanoi also ruled
Pham Hong Son should be kept
under house arrest for three
years after serving his prison
sentence.
He was arrested 2002, after
publishing an online feature entitled What Is Democracy? from
the US State Department's website.
Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Committee
to Protect Journalists say the trial is part of the Vietnamese
Government's campaign against intellectuals and dissidents who
use the internet to circulate news or opinion banned from the
tightly-controlled state press.
The prosecution said Mr Son had been in contact with what it
called "political opportunists" and "reactionary forces overseas".
Mr Son was also accused of collecting money from abroad for
dissidents.
The trial was held under tight security and on Wednesday foreign
diplomats were barred from entering the court.
Two dissidents were jailed last year for cyberspace criticism of
the communist government.
About a million Vietnamese out of an 80-million-strong population
are estimated to have regular access to the web, mainly through
internet cafes.
But in 2002, the government tightened regulations on the
internet by requiring websites to be licensed and restricted
access.
BBC News - June 18, 2003.
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