Six Vietnamese Activists Sentenced For ‘Subversion’ in Hanoi Trial

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“Right now the Vietnamese Communist Party and government are cracking down on critics in a way we haven’t seen in many, many years,” he said.
“The number of political cases in the country has increased substantially, but the interesting thing is that more and more people are still willing to challenge the authorities, so this tactic of the government isn’t working to stop people calling for democracy,” he said.

Judicial authorities in Hanoi handed down harsh jail sentences on Thursday to six Vietnamese activists found guilty of “subversion,” earning the condemnation of rights groups who had called for the charges to be dropped.

Prominent rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, his colleague Le Thu Ha, and citizen journalists Pham Van Troi, Nguyen Trung Ton, Truong Minh Duc, and Nguyen Bac Truyen, were tried for conducting activities aimed at overthrowing the state under Article 79 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.

The statute carries maximum sentences of life imprisonment or capital punishment for those who are convicted.

The six were accused of affiliation with the Brotherhood for Democracy, a group founded by Dai in 2013 to defend human rights and promote democratic ideals in Vietnam. All have campaigned for victims of injustice, advocated for religious freedom, and supported political prisoners and their families.

In all, the activists were sentenced to 66 years in jail and 17 years under house arrest.