Thach, 68, from the province’s Dien Chaudistrict, will be subject to a probationary period of three years upon hisrelease. He was previously sentenced to three years behind bars on charges of “conductingpropaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”.
According to the indictment, from March 2013 toJuly 2017, Thach and Nguyen Van Dai, Pham Van Troi, Nguyen Trung Ton, andNguyen Bac Truyen founded the “Brotherhood for Democracy” organisation, built anoperational credo and regulations, and opened a representative office and a website.
They used the excuse of fighting for “democracyand human rights” and “civil society” to hide their activities against theadministration, and contacted illegal organisations both inside and outside ofVietnam to gain strength and wait for a suitable time to declare publicoperations, confront the administration, and change the political institutionsin Vietnam towards overthrowing the people’s administration.
In December 2015, the Investigation Police Agencyat the Ministry of Public Security began legal proceedings against Nguyen VanDai, Pham Van Troi, Nguyen Trung Ton, and Nguyen Bac Truyen on charges of“attempting to overthrow the people’s administration”.
When working with the agency and Nghe An’sDepartment of Public Security, Thach committed to giving up the “Brotherhoodfor Democracy” organisation as well as activities confronting the State ofVietnam.
However, he then continued to implementanti-State activities. From May 1, 2019 to March 2, 2020, he wrote and postedmany articles distorting political and socio-economic events and smearing Partyand State leaders on his Facebook page.
The jury said that the case was extremelyserious and the defendant’s offence dangerous and long-lasting.
The People’s Procuracy of Nghe An provinceaffirmed that Thach’s offense threatened social stability, encroached uponnational independence and socialism, reduced people’s trust in the politicalinstitutions of the State of Vietnam, and infringed upon national security andsocial safety and order./.