The People’s Court of southern Long An province on May 16 sentenced Dinh Nguyen Kha to ten years’ imprisonment and Nguyen Phuong Uyen to six years in prison for “conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”.

Kha’s sentence includes his two years’ imprisonment for “intentionally causing injury” in another case.

After serving their sentences, the accused will remain under house arrest for three years each and will not be allowed to join in any social organisations.

According to the indictment of the provincial People’s Procuracy, between April and May 2012, via social network Facebook, Kha, who was born in 1988 in Ward 6, Tan An city, Long An province, and Uyen, born in 1992 in Ham Tri commune, Ham Thuan Bac district, central Binh Thuan province, a third-year student at Ho Chi Minh City’s Food Industry University, made the acquaintance of Nguyen Thien Thanh, who was living in Thailand.

Thanh induced the pair to join in the so-called “ Tuoi tre yeu nuoc” (Patriotic Youth), a reactionary organisation, of which Thanh is a member.

On August 31, 2012, Thanh sent Kha three files with different contents to spread in urban and rural areas and roads. Kha was also asked to take four or five photographs to be posted on the Tuoi tre yeu nuoc website.

Incited by Thanh, Kha and Uyen produced, stored and circulated anti-State documents. In August 2012, they erected a yellow flag with three red stripes, the flag of the former Sai Gon regime, and a banner that defames the Communist Party of Vietnam in public spaces in Tan An city and Ham Tri commune. Then they took photographs of the scene and sent them to Thanh to publish on the Tuoi tre yeu nuoc website.

Later on October 10, 2012, the pair scattered leaflets on An Suong flyover in Ba Diem commune, Hoc Mon district, Ho Chi Minh City .

Under the direction of Thanh via the Internet, both Kha and Uyen conducted planned actions against the Vietnamese State .
Therefore, they were charged with “conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” stipulated in Point C, Clause 1, Article 88 of the Penal Code.

Thanh, who acted as an instigator in this case, is being hunted by Ho Chi Minh City’s security forces for his involvement in another anti-State case that the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court judged on October 10, 2012.-VNA