Vietnamese
Court
upholds sentence against three young Catholics
AsiaNews
09/28/2012
Judges confirm sentence for two defendants; reduce
prison term to six months for the third. A trial for "propaganda against the
state" and distributing "anti-government leaflets." The faithful of Vinh demand
their release. Rumors, unconfirmed, of five arrests among those who tried to
gain access to the courtroom.
Hanoi (AsiaNews / Agencies) - A Vietnamese court has upheld the sentence on
appeal, handed down at first instance in May, against three young Catholic
activists, guilty - according to the Communist authorities - for "propaganda
against the state" and distributing "anti-government leaflets." The hearing was
held on September 26 at the Nghe An province People's Court, in the north of the
country. In recent weeks even the Vinh diocese' Commission for Justice and Peace
had campaigned for their release, appealing for an appeal "in accordance with
international law" and their subsequent release "because they are innocent
people."
The court upheld the initial sentence for Antonie Dau Van Duong and Pierre Tran
Huu Duc. The sentence of the third Catholic, Chu Manh Son, was instead reduced
to six months. The fourth defendant, however, preferred not to appeal, for fear
of an even harsher punishment being meeted out. The Catholics of the diocese of
Vinh tried to gain access to the court, but a heavy deployment of police and the
lack of transportation hindered the faithful. Unconfirmed reports speak of five
or six people arrested.
To date, only four out of 17 Christian activists, who were arrested by the
police in June 2011, have undergone trial. The first trial was held May 25 in
Nghe An province people's court (see AsiaNews 25/05/2012 Four Catholic
activists, on trial for "propaganda against the state", are sentenced "). In
accordance with Articles 88 and 79 of the Penal Code, the judges issued a
sentence of 42 months in prison, plus 18 months probation for Antonie Dau Van
Duong, 39 months in prison and one year of probation to Tran Huu Duc; 36 months
and one year of probation to Chu Manh Son, and finally Hoang Phong, was
sentenced to 18 months.
For Catholic leaders, the first trial was a "sham" in which civil rights
enshrined in the Constitution were violated: freedom of speech, press, assembly
and information. The young people were only expressing personal opinions and
could - in theory - rely on the basic human rights. They are "good students" and
come from "poor and hard-working" families.