At an open trial, the court also ordered Ly be kept under surveillance for five years after release.

Among Ly's accomplices, Nguyen Phong was sentenced to six years in prison and given three years’ probation and Nguyen Binh Thanh, five years in prison and two years’ probation.
Two other co-conspirators received suspended sentences.

These sentences were approved by the people attending the court, who said that it served the criminals right.

Ly was born in Vinh Linh in the central province of Quang Tri on May 15, 1946. Ordained a Catholic priest in 1974, Ly swerved from the authentic religious course in 1975 and began to take part in activities against the people's administration.

Treated leniently by the State after repeatedly jailed for inciting religious followers to oppose the administration and undermine the policy on national unity, Ly still showed no repentance.

He continued to take overtly reactionary activities against the administration. He converted his house into a place from which he made, stored, and distributed documents against the State.

More seriously, Ly continued to contact and conspire with reactionary forces inside and outside the country to oppose the State, a behaviour that runs counter to the interest of the people and the nation and seriously violates Vietnamese laws.

On April 8, 2006, Ly founded a group 8406 (also called bloc 8406) and joined other accomplices to edit and compile many documents to spread distorted and slanderous information on the Vietnamese State.

During the investigation process, the police confiscated at Ly's home more than 200 kg of papers and documents relating to the founding and inauguration of reactionary organisations to subvert the Vietnamese Party and State.

VNS/VOVNews