Human rights lawyer Le Cong Dinh was initially accused of "propaganda against the state" but now faces a subversion charge along with pro-democracy blogger Nguyen Tien Trung.
(RSF/IFEX) – Human rights lawyer Le Cong Dinh has been charged with “subversion” by the prosecutor’s office, according to the Vietnamese newspaper “Thanh Nien”. He is now facing the death penalty.
Le was initially accused of “propaganda against the state” but now faces a subversion charge along with pro-democracy blogger Nguyen Tien Trung, who was arrested on 7 July 2009, while the lawyer was arrested on 13 June.
Both are accused of having links with the banned Democratic Party of Vietnam, producing propaganda documents against the regime and incitement to subversion on the Internet. No date has yet been announced for their trial but it could be held early next year.
Reporters Without Borders condemns the charges against Le Cong Dinh and Nguyen Tien Trung, the object of which is to create the illusion of a genuine international conspiracy against the Hanoi government, when the two men have done nothing but express their opinion. “We call for their immediate and unconditional release”, said the organisation.
