3 Vietnamese dissidents get reduced sentences for democracy emails
Three Vietnamese dissidents have had their sentences reduced on appeal. They were sentenced for writing pro-democracy email and fax messages.
Nguyen Truc Cuong and Nguyen Vu Viet had their jail terms of four and five years both reduced to 32 months on appeal. Their sister had her three-year sentence reduced to four months and six days. Since she had already spent more than two years in jail she was freed immediately after the trial on 28 November.Foreign ministry spokesman Le Dung said the sentences had been reduced because the accused had “genuinely acknowledged their crimes during the appeal.
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Nguyen Vu Viet, 27, Nguyn Truc Cuong, 36, and their sister Nguyen Thi Hoa, 44, are the nephews and niece of an imprisoned Catholic priest Nguyen Van Ly, who was arrested in June 2001. They are accused of “taking advantage of democratic freedoms and rights to damage the interests of the government, social organisations and citizens.” Amnesty International has said that the charge sheet against them includes a precise list of all their communications abroad.
– RSF, Three cyberdissidents have sentences reduced on appeal.