The People’s Court in the central province of Hà Tĩnh on April 12 handed down a jail term of nine years, which will be followed by another five-year probation to Trần Thị Xuân, for attempts to overthrow the people’s administration.— Photo laodongnghean.vn

HÀ NỘI — The People’s Court in the central province of Hà Tĩnh on April 12 handed down a jail term of nine years, which will be followed by another five-year probation to Trần Thị Xuân, for attempts to overthrow the people’s administration.

According to the indictment of the provincial People’s Procuracy, Trần Thị Xuân, born 1976, agreed to become a member of the so-called Hội anh em dân chủ (Brotherhood for Democracy) after being introduced to the group in June 2016 by head of the group’s training section Lê Thanh Tùng, a resident in HCM City. 

Hội anh em dân chủ is a reactionary organisation involving in illegal activities against the Party and State of Việt Nam with the aim to overthrow the people’s administration, Vietnam News Agency reported.

During a social network-based conference in July 2016 to elect the organisation’s key posts, Xuân was elected deputy head of the organisation in the central region whilst Nguyễn Trung Trực remained head of the central region branch.

Since then, Xuân often chaired the organisation’s periodical meetings through social networks and used Facebook accounts nicknamed Nụ Tầm Xuân and Trần Hoàng Quân to post and share writings and images containing wrong information about the Party and State’s policies, and agitate the public to go on strike and then pose these images on social networks and some websites.

With her position and instructions and support from foreign and domestic reactionary organisations, Xuân increasingly demonstrated her attempt to oppose and overthrow the Government. On April 3, 2017 she directly used microphone, screaming protest slogans and agitating local people to destroy property and cause social disorder, seriously affecting the operation of the Lộc Hà District’s People Committee in Hà Tĩnh Province for hours.

Xuân’s acts were said to "attempt to overthrow the poeple’s administration" under Clause 1, Article 79 of the 1999 Penal Code.

Seven years in jail

Also on April 12, 32-year-old Nguyễn Viết Dũng in central Nghệ An Province’s Yên Thành District was sentenced to seven years in prison and another five years under probation for conducting propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam in the first-instance trial.

According to investigation body, Dũng (usually called Dũng Phi Hổ) once received a 12-month-jail for "causing social disorder" by Hà Nội People’s Committee. Releasing from prison, Dũng used social networks to collude with extremists and reactionaries to write articles, post photos that distort the truth about the country and destroy the peaceful life of countrymen, Vietnam News Agency reported.

From April 30, 2017 to May 19, 2017, Dũng used his own Facebook page to post numerous articles with contents containing wrong information about the Party and State’s policies, defame the Government, and distort the national history.

On September 27 last year, Dũng was arrested for "conducting propaganda against the Social Republic of Việt Nam" in accordance with the Article 88 of the Penal Code. — VNS