Vietnam hits back at trial fallout
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Dung hit back at accusations leveled against Vietnam’s recent holding of trials as completely groundless, emphasising that the South East Asian nation is only punishing violators of state law.
Spokesman Dung made the remark when asked if several defendants who were sentenced to jail by courts in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, were simply exercising their rights to freedom of speech.
Dung went on to say “As we have said time and time again, the Vietnamese Government has always respected the rights to freedom and democracy, including the freedom of speech. In Vietnam no one is arrested due to their political or religious beliefs. Only those who have breached the law are punished in accordance with the law.”
“We are a law-governed State, all legal violations should be punished in line with Vietnamese law,” emphasised the spokesman.
He added that the trials against Le Nguyen Sang, Nguyen Bac Truyen and Huynh Nguyen Dao in Ho Chi Minh City and Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan in Hanoi were conducted in public and followed all the required steps and transparent litigation procedures.
Spokesman Dung emphasised that the defendants’ rights were ensured and all procedures have complied with international law with the trial being run along similar lines to many other countries.
“Again, these are cases which address acts considered to be legal violations in Vietnam, they are in no way anti-religion, political or free speech. These accusations that purport that the convicted merely exercised their right to freedom of speech are completely farcical,” concluded the spokesman.
Vietnam News Agency - May 15, 2007.
Vietnam jails activist lawyers for up to 5 years
HANOI - A Vietnam court on Friday sentenced two activist lawyers to up to five years in jail in the latest trial of political dissidents in the communist-run state.
Nguyen Van Dai, 39, and Le Thi Cong Nhan, 28, part of a new generation of Internet-based political activists with supporters overseas, were found guilty of "spreading propaganda against the state," a criminal offense in Vietnam.
The four-hour trial was one of three this week of activists from Vietnam's tiny dissident community, who propose alternatives to one-party rule. The government says it put them on trial for breaking the law.
Hanoi People's Court Chief Judge Nguyen Huu Chinh sentenced Dai to five years in prison plus four years "administrative surveillance," which usually means virtual house arrest. Nhan was sentenced to four years plus three years of "administrative surveillance."
They were both represented by a lawyer but each stood or sat on a wooden bench in front of a microphone to answer questions from the prosecutor and the judge.
Police arrested Dai and Nhan on March 6. The government said the two ran human rights workshops for students, associated with outlawed groups, and had documents inciting disruption of the May 20 National Assembly elections.
They were also linked to "Bloc "8406," named after the date on which that group revealed itself, April 8, 2006, with a "Manifesto for Freedom and Democracy" on the Internet.
Washington deplored what it called an "increasing incidence of arrest and detention of political activists" in Vietnam, in some of the sharpest U.S. criticism of Hanoi since President George W. Bush's goodwill visit in November.
The White House said Nhan and Dai and two other activists prosecuted recently had been targeted "for activities well within their right to peaceful expression."
"As Vietnam's economy and society reform and move forward, such repression of individuals for their views is anachronistic," the White House said.
'Sentence pronouced was disproportionate'
At one point, Dai said Vietnam's constitution permitted access to information for private use, "and it was a violation of the law only when it was anti-government information released to others. I have kept this information to myself."
Bespectacled Nhan, in a light blue shirt with stripes and her hair tied back in a pony tail, had one terse exchange with the judge over her right to speak.
"I protest this court because of the judge's attitude," she said. "I'm old enough to defend myself."
Nguyen Van Ly, a Catholic priest, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment on similar charges in March.
Journalists and U.S. and European diplomats observed proceedings on a closed-circuit TV in a separate room of the court building. "The verdict and sentence pronounced was disproportionate to the accusation and the evidence," a European Union diplomat said.
Hanoi rejects accusations by Western human rights groups that it has cracked down on activists after Vietnam successfully hosted an Asia-Pacific summit, won World Trade Organization membership and was removed from a U.S. religious rights blacklist in 2006.
On Thursday in Ho Chi Minh City, three men were sentenced to between three and five years imprisonment for "spreading propaganda against the state" by using the Internet and forming a political party.
By Grant McCool - Reuters - May 11, 2007.
Vietnam jails two more pro-democracy activists
Hanoi - Two prominent Vietnamese human-rights lawyers were sentenced to prison Friday, drawing the ire of the international community.
Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan were found guilty by a People's Court in Hanoi of disseminating propaganda harmful to the state.
Both defendants were members of political groups that Vietnam, a one-party state, has banned.
Dai was given a five-year sentence with an additional four years of house arrest once he finishes his prison term. Nhan received a four-year term in prison and three years of house arrest.
Dai and Nhan told the presiding judge that they rejected the accusations made against them. Before the court adjourned to consider the verdict, Nhan shouted, 'I object,' then she broke down in tears.
The proceedings were observed by the press and representatives of several embassies via closed-circuit television in an adjacent room in the courthouse. Neither the public nor the defendants' families were allowed to attend.
Some of the international observers who watched the trial called the sentences harsh.
'The evidence that was shown during the trial was weak, and the verdict that has been pronounced seems disproportionate in regards to the accusation and the evidence that was given,' said a diplomat from an EU country who did not wish to be named. 'We consider that people should not be condemned for just peacefully expressing their views.'
A representative from the US embassy said Friday's ruling was deeply troubling.
'This trial comes in the wake of the disturbing increase in the harassment, detention, arrests and convictions of individuals peacefully exercising their legitimate rights,' said Ralph W Falzone, second secretary at the US embassy in Hanoi. 'We call on the government of Vietnam to release these individuals and other political prisoners.'
Friday's verdicts came just a day after three pro-democracy activists in Ho Chi Minh City were found guilty of the same charges.
A third dissident trial was scheduled for Tuesday. Tran Quoc Hien is charged with spreading disinformation as well as threatening public security. The latter charge carries a possible 15-year prison sentence.
Human-rights groups accused Vietnam of stepping up its persecution of pro-democracy activists now that the country is no longer trying to win concessions from the international community.
Amnesty International released a statement calling the recent crackdown 'a politically motivated campaign by authorities to silence dissenting voices.'
The London-based group said more than 20 dissidents have been arrested since Vietnam won approval to join the World Trade Organization in November.
Deutsche Presse Agentur - May 11, 2007.
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