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VIETNAM-TRIAL-LAWYER-RIGHTS-POLITICS
Vietnam jails ex-lawyer for ‘attempt to topple state’ with US group
HANOI, June 27, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A former Vietnamese lawyer was sentenced
to eight years in prison Thursday for “attempting to overthrow the state”
with the support of an outlawed US-based anti-communist group, state media
reported.
Tran Cong Khai was accused of working with the Provisional National
Government of Vietnam (PNGV), a California-based organisation with a self-
appointed prime minister that pledges allegiance to the former South Vietnam
regime.
A Ho Chi Minh City court found him guilty of calling people to join a
referendum to usher PNGV’s leader Dao Minh Quan into power, with the
intention of bringing him back to Vietnam to rule, the official Vietnam News
Agency (VNA) reported.
He was also accused of planning an attack at a 2017 meeting of world
leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), which included US
President Donald Trump, Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping of China.
Khai was arrested before the alleged attack could take place, VNA said.
The court said Khai’s actions were “very serious and dangerous for
society”, VNA reported, adding that Khai “admitted his crimes” at the half-
day trial.
He was given eight years for attempting to overthrow the government, a
charge that carries a maximum sentence of death.
The trial comes just days after US citizen Michael Nguyen was jailed for
12 years on the same charges alongside two activists.
The father of four was arrested in July last year during a trip to Vietnam
from his hometown in California.
He was accused of preparing armed protest and the occupation of official
“headquarters” in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and having links to outlawed
anti-government groups, which his family denies.
Vietnam routinely jails activists, bloggers and lawyers but convictions
have risen under a hardline administration in charge since 2016.
PNGV is classified as a “terrorist” organisation by Vietnam’s communist
government.
It was established in 1990 in California, where large numbers of
Vietnamese refugees settled after the end of the war.
Its members, many of whom wear the yellow-and-red-striped southern flag of
the former Saigon regime, say their aim is to “liberate Vietnam from
communism”.
BSS/AFP/RY/1711 hrs