The three defendants were Tran Duc Thach, born in 1952 in Nghe An province, Vu Van Hung, born in 1966 in Hanoi and Pham Van Troi, born in 1972 in Hanoi.

At the Instance Court trial, Troi was sentenced to 4 years in prison and another four years’ probation, while both Hung and Thach received three-year sentences and were placed on probation for another three years.

They were accused of illegally hanging slogans, writing and publishing stories on the Internet, taking part in interviews, and stockpiling and distributing materials that distort and falsify Party guidelines, State policies and Vietnam’s revolutionary cause, including the past struggle for national liberation and the current Renewal process.

The Court of Appeals ruled that their activities caused social instability and reduced the people’s trust in the Party and State, in an attempt to change the country’s political system.