The Hanoi People’s Court handed down the sentences to the three defendants during a three-day trial which ended on October 8.

Tran Duc Thach, 57 years old from Nghe An province in central Vietnam, and Vu Van Hung, 37 from Hanoi, will serve 3 years each in prison and will be placed on probation for another three years. Pham Van Troi was given a 4-year prison term and sentenced to four years’ probation.

According to the indictment, Tran Duc Thach wrote many stories distorting the truth and speaking ill of the Party and the State. He kept and published them in the Nation – an unlicensed biweekly magazine established by several subversive elements to oppose the Party and the State.  

Vu Van Hung wrote and hung anti-State banners at Mai Dich flyover in Hanoi on July 28, 2008, demanding democracy and pluralism.

Meanwhile, Pham Van Troi wrote an article in November 2006, distorting the truth and accusing the Vietnamese State of suppressing democracy. Through phone interviews, he even complained that he had been beaten by the police and local people. Searching his house, the police found that his personal computer contained materials opposed to the Party and the State.

The judge concluded that the three defendants had made use of their right to freedom of democracy and speech to write untrue stories and publish them on the Internet and store materials opposed to the Party and the State. Their offence was described as serious and dangerous, reducing public trust in the Party and the State, muddying Vietnam’s image in the international arena and harming the national interest.
The judge decided to hand down harsh sentences to the three defendants.