The Ministry of Public Security announced in Ho Chi Minh City on September 29 the arrest of and start of legal proceedings against Pham Minh Hoang, member of the terrorist organisation Viet Tan.
Hoang was arrested on the charge of conducting “activities aiming at overthrowing the people’s administration” under Article 79 in the Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Colonel Nguyen Xuan Mung, deputy head of the Ministry of Public Security’s Investigation Security Bureau, told the press briefing.
Pham Minh Hoang was born on August 8, 1955 in Vung Tau city, the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau , into a family of a high-level official of the Saigon regime’s military general staff.
In 1973, he left to study in France and held a master degree in applied science. In 1998, Hoang joined the reactionary organisation Viet Tan in France . In 2000, under a scheme of Viet Tan, Hoang returned to Vietnam and worked as a contracted lecturer at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology.
On August 13 this year, the Ministry of Public Security’s investigation arm ordered the arrest of Pham Minh Hoang to investigate his “activities to overthrow the administration.”
The investigation showed that between July, 2002 and May, 2010, Hoang wrote 29 articles containing distorted information on the Vietnamese State polices and sent them to Viet Tan for uploading on the internet.
In November, 2009, Hoang, his wife Le Thi Kieu Oanh, and a man named Nguyen Thanh Hung flew to Malaysia to attend a Viet Tan-organised course, which provided skills on information security on the internet, discussed ways on “non-violent fight” and watched films on “non-violent fights” in order to translate them into reality in Vietnam with the aim of changing the country’s current political institution.
During his stay in Vietnam , Hoang has conducted several activities under Viet Tan’s guidance to build a key force for Viet Tan in the country.
Hoang enlisted his wife and his brother to participate in the organisation. From January to May, 2010, Hoang and three other members of Viet Tan – Pham Duy Khanh, Hoang’s younger brother and member of Viet Tan in France; Jolie Trang Huynh, a Vietnamese resident in the US; and Huynh Chau, a Vietnamese living in Australia, held two courses with four classes on “soft skills” to recruit members for Viet Tan. Each class involved between 10 and 12, mainly young people, students and including three Christian nuns.
Colonel Nguyen Xuan Mung stressed the above-said evidence constitutes sufficient legal basis for the investigation agency to conclude that, in accordance with the Vietnam laws and international practice, “Viet Tan” is a terrorist organisation with subversive activities, violating Articles 79 and 84 of the Penal Code. Therefore, any individual, who joins and operates in the organisation, violates Vietnam ’s laws.
Hoang’s arrest and detention by the investigation agency is fully compliant with the law, Mung said, adding that, during meetings with investigators, Pham Minh Hoang has become aware of his violations of the law, showed repentance and wrote a letter to the State for pleading for clemency./.
Hoang was arrested on the charge of conducting “activities aiming at overthrowing the people’s administration” under Article 79 in the Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Colonel Nguyen Xuan Mung, deputy head of the Ministry of Public Security’s Investigation Security Bureau, told the press briefing.
Pham Minh Hoang was born on August 8, 1955 in Vung Tau city, the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau , into a family of a high-level official of the Saigon regime’s military general staff.
In 1973, he left to study in France and held a master degree in applied science. In 1998, Hoang joined the reactionary organisation Viet Tan in France . In 2000, under a scheme of Viet Tan, Hoang returned to Vietnam and worked as a contracted lecturer at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology.
On August 13 this year, the Ministry of Public Security’s investigation arm ordered the arrest of Pham Minh Hoang to investigate his “activities to overthrow the administration.”
The investigation showed that between July, 2002 and May, 2010, Hoang wrote 29 articles containing distorted information on the Vietnamese State polices and sent them to Viet Tan for uploading on the internet.
In November, 2009, Hoang, his wife Le Thi Kieu Oanh, and a man named Nguyen Thanh Hung flew to Malaysia to attend a Viet Tan-organised course, which provided skills on information security on the internet, discussed ways on “non-violent fight” and watched films on “non-violent fights” in order to translate them into reality in Vietnam with the aim of changing the country’s current political institution.
During his stay in Vietnam , Hoang has conducted several activities under Viet Tan’s guidance to build a key force for Viet Tan in the country.
Hoang enlisted his wife and his brother to participate in the organisation. From January to May, 2010, Hoang and three other members of Viet Tan – Pham Duy Khanh, Hoang’s younger brother and member of Viet Tan in France; Jolie Trang Huynh, a Vietnamese resident in the US; and Huynh Chau, a Vietnamese living in Australia, held two courses with four classes on “soft skills” to recruit members for Viet Tan. Each class involved between 10 and 12, mainly young people, students and including three Christian nuns.
Colonel Nguyen Xuan Mung stressed the above-said evidence constitutes sufficient legal basis for the investigation agency to conclude that, in accordance with the Vietnam laws and international practice, “Viet Tan” is a terrorist organisation with subversive activities, violating Articles 79 and 84 of the Penal Code. Therefore, any individual, who joins and operates in the organisation, violates Vietnam ’s laws.
Hoang’s arrest and detention by the investigation agency is fully compliant with the law, Mung said, adding that, during meetings with investigators, Pham Minh Hoang has become aware of his violations of the law, showed repentance and wrote a letter to the State for pleading for clemency./.
