Criticism grows after Vietnam jails dissidents

Vietnam faced growing criticism Thursday after it jailed a group of dissidents for up to 16 years for trying to overthrow the communist regime.

Democracy activist Le Thang Long, 42, on trial at Ho Chi Minh City People's Court House. Vietnam is facing growing criticism after it jailed a group of dissidents for up to 16 years for trying to overthrow the communist regime.

"The accused had already been convicted in the pages of the newspapers before the trial started," said Shawn McHale, director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at Washington's George Washington University.

After a day-long trial in southern Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday, human rights lawyer Le Cong Dinh, 41, French-trained computer expert and blogger Nguyen Tien Trung, 26, Internet entrepreneur Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, 43, and Le Thang Long, 42, were convicted of "activities aimed at subverting the people's administration."

Thuc received a 16-year sentence, Trung seven years, while Dinh and Long each got five years, prompting swift criticism from Britain and the US.

British Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis said he was "deeply concerned" by the sentences and US consul-general Kenneth Fairfax, who monitored the trial, called for the dissidents' release.

"Nobody should be imprisoned for peacefully expressing their opinions. Freedom of expression and the free flow of ideas are essential for a flourishing economy and society. Verdicts like these only serve to harm Vietnam's international standing," Lewis said.

Months before the trial began state-linked media reported that the accused had all admitted their guilt.

Some observers see their case as linked to next year's Communist Party Congress, when high-ranking leadership posts will be determined. It was the most high-profile case in a series of arrests and convictions of dissidents and bloggers over the past year.

London-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International said the convicted men were "prisoners of conscience" and called for their immediate release.

"The trial made a complete mockery of justice, disregarding fundamental human rights such as the principle of presumption of innocence and the right to defence," said Brittis Edman, Amnesty's Vietnam researcher.

"The prosecution gave no evidence to support the indictment," Edman added.

McHale, in an emailed response to questions from AFP, said the indictment "strained belief."

Judge Nguyen Duc Sau convicted the men of a well-organised non-violent campaign, in collusion with "overseas exile reactionary organisations," aimed at overturning the government with the help of the Internet.