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| Uyen and Kha were accused of distributing anti-government propaganda [AFP] |
‘This year, at least 46 activists have been convicted and three bloggers were detained in June for anti-state activity in Vietnam, where the Communist Party forbids all political debate.’
Student activist freed while her co-defendant had his sentence halved in rare show of leniency.
16 Aug 2013
Uyen and Kha were accused of distributing anti-government
propaganda [AFP]
A Vietnamese court has overturned a six-year jail term
handed to a student activist, freeing her on the spot in a rare show of
leniency by the authoritarian nation, while her co-defendant had his setence
halved.
Friday's verdict freeing 21-year-old Nguyen Phuong Uyen was
unexpected.
"She was freed at the court," lawyer Nguyen Thanh
Luong, who does not represent Uyen but attended the proceedings, told AFP news
agency, adding that Uyen was instead handed a three-year suspended sentence.
Vietnam's courts routinely reject pleas by anti-state
dissidents against their lengthy sentences, reports said.
Uyen was sentenced in May to six years in prison for
distributing anti-state propaganda, prompting an outcry from Vietnamese social
media users and international rights groups.
Uyen's co-defendant, 25-year-old computer technician Dinh
Nguyen Kha, who was jailed for eight years at their trial in the southern
province of Long An, had his sentence halved by the appeal court on Friday.
'Humiliating the administration'
Uyen and Kha were accused of distributing anti-government
leaflets which "humiliated the administration" and called for
demonstrations against the regime.
The charges, under Article 88 of the criminal code, carry a
maximum sentence of 20 years in jail and are routinely laid against dissidents.
Uyen, who refused legal representation for the appeal
hearing, reportedly told the court she was a patriot and not a criminal.
"Opposing the (ruling) Communist Party does not mean
opposing the country and the people," she said, according to an unofficial
transcript of proceedings posted online by activists.
Vietnamese dissidents and online activists welcomed the
unexpected verdict, but many voiced suspicions about the government's motives
in freeing the popular Uyen, whose plight has attracted strong support.
This year, at least 46 activists have been convicted and
three bloggers were detained in June for anti-state activity in Vietnam, where
the Communist Party forbids all political debate.
4 comments:
Anyone wants to mess with Vietnam or its allies (Cambodia n Laos) should ask himself the question...do I feel lucky?
4:44 pm ,
In a dictatorship country like Vietnam, the political volcano is simmering. Sooner rather than later, the Viet volcano will burst !!!
.A Khmer Patriot
When people have nothing precious and meaningful - dignity, freedom of choice, expression, political liberty etc. - to live for they are inclined to risk all including their own lives made meaningless without these values, let alone asking whether they "feel lucky"!
These two Vietnamese dissidents here are hardly 'exceptional' nor were they unaware of the personal risks and repressive sentences handed against them prior to becoming involved in protest movement.
Nevertheless, we wish them all the luck in their cause for it is a just and noble pursuit they are putting their lives on the line for. We know exactly why some individuals are drawn to risky ventures like night creatures are attracted to moon light.
the Vietcong was strong because of the Soviet backing. Now vietcong is on their own. if war do break out, all vietcong should ask themselves, DO I FEEL LUCKY? mike
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