A court has upheld a jail sentence of 13 years handed down to 54-year-old Nguyễn Văn Túc for “attempting to overthrow the people’s administration” at an appeal trial in the northern province of Thái Bình on Friday.— VNA/VNS Photo Thế Duyệt

THÁI BÌNH — A court has upheld a jail sentence of 13 years handed down to 54-year-old Nguyễn Văn Túc for “attempting to overthrow the people’s administration” at an appeal trial in the northern province of Thái Bình on Friday.

The ruling was issued in accordance with Clause 1, Article 79 of the 1999 Penal Code.

Túc, a resident in Đông La Commune, Đông Hưng District, will also be kept under surveillance for five years after he completes his prison term. 

He was lured by foreign and domestic reactionary elements to join several organisations such as “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). Túc also received financial and spiritual support to become a leader responsible for gathering forces.

In December 2007, Túc participated in demonstrations in Hà Nội, after which he wrote and published misinformed articles online. In 2008, he and some others distributed anti-state propaganda leaflets in Hải Phòng City and Hải Dương Province.

Túc was taken into custody on September 10, 2008, and prosecuted under 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 four years in prison, he returned to his hometown to serve the three-year probation in 2012. However, he did not abide by the sentence and continued his anti-government activities.

In February 2014, Túc joined “Hội Anh Em Dân Chủ” (Brotherhood for Democracy) which was a reactionary organisation involved in illegal activities aimed at eliminating the leadership of the Communist Party of Việt Nam and overthrowing the people’s administration. In this organisation, Túc served as deputy chief of the representative committee in northern Việt Nam and first vice president.

On September 1, 2017, Thái Bình police decided to prosecute Túc, put him in temporary detention, and searched his residence. 

At the trial on April 10, the People’s Court of Thái Bình said Tuc’s actions had directly threatened national security and sentenced him to 13 years in prison. — VNS