Vietnam
Drops Terrorism Probe against Jailed Student Activist
VOA News
December 03, 2013
The
family of a jailed Vietnamese activist says authorities have decided to drop a
year-long investigation into ‘terrorism’ charges against him.
Dinh Nguyen Kha’s brother says they learned of the decision during a recent
visit with him in prison where he is serving a four-year sentence for anti-state
propaganda.
Dinh Nhat Uy says the investigation was halted because of public and
international pressure on Vietnam.
He said, “Our family is very glad to learn that Vietnam finally has to drop
‘terrorism’ charges against Kha. It shows justice has won. Now that Vietnam has
become a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council, they must abide by the
international rules for which they are a signatory. They can’t keep on
arbitrarily convicting people and putting people in jail.”
Vietnamese authorities have not responded to the report.
Kha and his fellow activist Nguyen Phuong Uyen were arrested in October 2012 for
distributing anti-state and anti-China leaflets. Kha faced an additional charge
of “terrorism” under Article 84. Police at the time told state media that he had
conducted experiments with explosives.
Uy was later arrested and give a 15-month suspended sentence for conducting an
online campaign against his brother's conviction.