THÁI BÌNH – A man has been jailed for 13 years for attempting to overthrow the government.

The People’s Court of northern Thài Bình Province sentenced Nguyễn Văn Túc for “attempting to overthrow the people’s administration” under Clause 1, Article 79 of the 1999 Penal Code at the first-instance trial today.

The 54-year-old man, a resident in Thái Bình’s Đông Hưng District, will also be under probation for five years after he completes the prison term.

According to the indictment by the provincial People’s Procuracy, Nguyễn Văn Túc has been recruited by foreign and domestic reactionary elements to join several organisations, for example, “Đảng dân chủ 21” (Democratic party 21), “Hội dân oan” (Association for victims of injustice), “Nhóm dân chủ” (Democratic group), and “Khối 8406” (Bloc 8406) since 2006. Túc also received financial support and spiritual encouragement to become a “leader” responsible for recruiting members.

In December 2007, Túc took part in demonstrations in Hà Nội, then wrote and published stories containing wrong information on the internet. In 2008, he and some others distributed anti-State propaganda leaflets in Hải Phòng and Hải Dương.

Túc was taken into custody by the police on September 10, 2008 and prosecuted on the charge of “conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam”. Later, the Supreme People’s Court in Hà Nội sentenced Túc to four years in prison and another three years under probation.

After his release, he returned to his hometown to serve the three-years probation in 2012.

But he did not abide by the sentence and continued his anti-government activities by joining Việt Tân, a terrorist organisation, assuming the role as a member of the "anti-corruption advisory committee".

In February 2014, Túc took part in the “Hội anh em dân chủ” (Brotherhood for Democracy) which was a reactionary organisation involving in illegal activities aiming to eliminate the leadership of the Communist Party of Việt Nam and overthrow the people’s administration. In this organisation, Túc used to serve as deputy chief of the representative committee in northern Việt Nam and first vice president.

At the trial today, the court said Túc’s acts directly threatened national security. — VNS