Vietnam charges activist with anti-government acts

 

Deutsche Presse Agentur

Feb 9, 2011

Hanoi - Vietnamese authorities have charged a member of a banned pro-democracy movement with activities opposing the government, authorities said Wednesday.

Vu Quang Thuan, 44, head of the Vietnam Progressive Democratic Movement, was arrested February 2 at Ho Chi Minh City Airport after he was expelled by Malaysia authorities for suspected terrorist acts, the state-run newspaper Tuoi Tre reported.

Nguyen Hong Vinh - a senior official at the People's Supreme Procuracy, which is responsible for prosecutions - told the German Press Agency dpa that Thuan was charged with violating a ban on propaganda against the state.

Thuan and other activists set up their movement in 2007 to campaign for 'democracy, humanity, peace, justice and prosperity.'

Local media said the group had organized 'reactionary seminars' disguised as economic development conferences.

Thuan fled to Malaysia in 2009, where he continued to produce documents calling for democracy and disseminating them via the internet. He was arrested when he tried to set himself on fire in April at the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Vietnamese media reports said Thuan had plotted a terrorist attack, but the activist said he only wanted to protest pressure the Vietnamese government had put on Malaysia to expel him.

 

 

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