Vietnam sentences four labour activists to prison

Dec 11, 2007, 12:58 GMT

Hanoi - A court in southern Vietnam sentenced four labor activists jailed since 2006 to between 1.5 and 4.5 years in prison, a judge confirmed Tuesday.

'It was a one-day trial,' said Huynh Van Luu, chief judge of the People's Court of Dong Nai province, near Ho Chi Minh City. 'All the defendants pled guilty.'

The defendants, Nguyen Tan Hoanh, Tran Thi Le Hang, Doan Huy Chuong, and Doan Van Dien, were members of the United Workers-Farmers Organization, an independent labour union established in 2006 as part of a broader political dissident movement called Bloc 8406.

They were arrested in November, 2006, shortly before the start of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Hanoi, during a broad crackdown on opposition political activity.

The four were convicted under Article 258 of Vietnam's legal code, 'Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State,' which carries a penalty of between two and seven years in jail.

According to press accounts, Dien, Hong, and Quyen were sentenced for having collected complaints of government land-rights violations and passing them on to Western news sources, including Radio Free Asia. They were also accused of passing out anti-government leaflets during an APEC-related meeting in Hanoi.

In another trial Monday in Dong Nai, Luu said three other activists had also been sentenced to several years in prison under Article 258. He said Nguyen Van Ngoc and Truong Minh Nguyet were sentenced to four years in prison, and Trinh Quoc Thao to 3 years.

Luu did not specify what Ngoc, Nguyet and Thao were convicted of doing, saying only that they had done 'the same thing' as the other four activists sentenced Monday.