Vietnam gives harsh jail terms to 6 for advocating democracy

Six human rights activists were sentenced to harsh prison terms in Vietnam after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the government by advocating a multiparty democracy.

Prominent human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai received the most severe penalty of 15 years in prison and five years of house arrest at the one-day trial Thursday, said his lawyer Nguyen Van Mieng. The others received sentences from seven to 12 years.

They were charged with affiliating with a group called Brotherhood for Democracy, whose purpose was to change the leadership of the Communist Party and build a multiparty system.

"The sentences are too harsh to the defendants," Mieng said. "They fought for human rights, they fought for the rights of multi-party system ... which are recognized achievements of mankind, but the court sees it as serious (threat) to the regime."
"The purpose of the group is to change the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, build a multi-party system," the official Vietnam News Agency quoted the verdict as saying. "The defendants' act is not fight for democracy, but acts that aim at overthrowing the people's administration."
"The United States is deeply concerned by the Vietnamese government's efforts to restrict these rights, through a disturbing trend of increased arrests, convictions, and harsh sentences of peaceful activists."