Vietnam to try French national on political charges

Jul 27, 2011, 11:40 GMT

Hanoi - A Vietnamese court is to try a French professor for allegedly carrying out anti-government activities, his family and party said Wednesday.

Pham Minh Hoang, a French citizen, will face the charge of 'carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration' before a court in Ho Chi Minh City on August 10, his family said.

Hoang, 56, left to study in France in 1973 and returned to Vietnam in 2000 to teach. He has been detained since August 13.

As a member of Viet Tan, a banned party, Hoang wanted to overcome dictatorship and reform the country peacefully, his party said.

Police said Hoang and his wife, Le Thi Kieu Oanh, went to Malaysia in November for a course on non-violent struggle methods organized by Viet Tan, a banned group. He then returned home to organize a leadership skills course for more than 40 students.

'In fact, Hoang, through the training course, induced people to join Viet Tan to build forces,' the Vietnamese media said, adding that Hoang had confessed and asked for leniency.

Police said they had sufficient evidence to prove that his wife, Oanh, was a member of Viet Tan, but have not taken action against her because she is looking after her young daughter.

Oanh denied being a member, saying she believed her husband's arrest was tied to his support for protests against controversial Chinese-run bauxite mines in the Central Highlands.

Authorities have jailed dozens of democracy activists and independent bloggers over the past year.

Many of those imprisoned were accused of belonging to Viet Tan, which Vietnam considers a terrorist organization.

Most had also criticized the policy on the bauxite mines, or had advocated stronger opposition to China regarding the Spratly and Paracel Islands in the South China Sea, which both countries claim.