Concerns over sentencing of Catholic bloggers

On 24 September 2012 Christian bloggers Nguyen Van Hai (a.k.a. Dieu Cay), Marie Ta Phong Tan and Phan Thanh Hai were charged with “conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 88 of the criminal code. Nguyen Van Hai was sentenced to twelve years’ imprisonment with an additional five years’ house arrest, while Marie Ta Phong Tan and Phan Thanh Hai were sentenced to ten and four years respectively plus three years’ house arrest. All three bloggers had been in pre-trial detention at the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City.

The three bloggers were founding members of the Free Journalists’ Club, or the Club for Free Journalists, a group championing freedom of expression. The club members have suffered ongoing intimidation and harassment. The charges against the three bloggers relate to both political articles posted by the Club and posts on their own blogs critical of the government.

During the trial, Nguyen Van Hai told the court that he felt “frustrated by injustice, corruption” and a “dictatorship which does not represent the state but some individuals”. The audio feed cut out shortly after he made these comments.

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