CORRESPONDENCE - 85A COMBINED REPORTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN VIETNAM 2012

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VIETNAM 11 In January Binh Phuoc People's Court convicted Phung Lam from Binh Phuoc Province of propagandizing against the state and sentenced him to seven years in prison. Police had arrested him in June 2010 for alleged ties to the Democratic Party of Vietnam (DPV) and DPV chairman Nguyen Sy Binh, claiming that Lam posted articles opposing the government on the Internet. Lam had fled to Cambodia in May 2010, but police arrested him when he attempted to return to visit his family. During a one -day closed trial in May, the Ben Tre People's Court convicted several defendants of attempting to overthrow the government and sentenced them as follows: Tran Thi Thuy from Dong Thap Province, eight years' imprisonment and five years' probation; Pham Van Thong, Ben Tre Province, seven years' imprisonment and five years' probation; Pastor Duong Kim Khai, Ho Chi Minh City, six years' imprisonment and five years' probation; and Cao Van Tinh, Con Tho Province, five years' imprisonment and five years' probation. The other three (congregant Pham Ngoc Hoa, Nguyen Thanh Tam, and lay pastor Nguyen Chi Thanh) were each sentenced to two years' imprisonment and three years' probation. In August Thuy, Thong, Khai, and Tinh appealed; the court reduced Khai's sentence to five years' imprisonment and Tinh's sentence to four years' imprisonment, and denied the appeals of Thuy and Thong. Police had arrested Thuy, Thong, Khai, and Tam in July- August 2010 for alleged ties to a banned, foreign- based, prodemocracy group and for organizing and advocating on behalf of land - rights claimants in Ben Tre and Dong Thap provinces. Police had also arrested Hoa and Thanh, affiliated with Khai and the unrecognized Mennonite Church, in November 2010 for their alleged ties to the same prodemocracy group and their work with Khai. On March 22, authorities deported foreign citizen Le Kin, whom they had arrested in October 2010 in Ho Chi Minh City for attempting to overthrow the government through his alleged involvement with overseas political organizations critical of the government. In August an appeals court upheld the Hanoi People's Court sentence in April of attorney Cu Huy Ha Vu to seven years in jail for antistate propagandizing. Police had arrested him in November 2010 for his Internet articles and interviews with foreign media criticizing the prime minister. In November Vu's appeal of his sentence was unsuccessful. In February the Hanoi People's Court convicted Vu Duc Trung and Le Van Thanh, affiliated with the Falun Gong movement, of "illegally broadcasting information