VIETNAM: Pro-Democracy Activists’ Trial Sparks Flurry of Blogs

By Chan Ngon

HO CHI MINH CITY, Jan 28 (IPS) - This month’s trial of four pro-democracy activists in this major Vietnamese city has generated a flurry of online posts from concerned citizens seeking to express their sentiments against the country’s communist regime though knowing full well the risks involved.

"In the past months, similar trials have been staged to punish those who attempt to criticise the government even if it’s done peacefully," remarked blogger ‘Song Hung’ (which translates as ‘Living Heroically’).

The "accusation, verdict, sentences are decided beforehand" and neither the press nor family members of the accused are allowed to witness the trial, said Song.

On Jan. 20, a court in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam’s largest city and business capital, charged four individuals with subversion – or attempting to "overthrow the government" or, more specifically, promoting human rights and a multi-party system. The court sentenced them to five to 16 years in prison. The decision followed a vast crackdown on those critical of the regime.

Le Cong Dinh, 41, a U.S-educated prominent human rights lawyer, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, 43, a well-known Internet entrepreneur and blogger, Nguyen Tien Trung, 23, a French-trained information technology expert, and Le Thang Long, Thuc’s assistant, were arrested separately in May and July 2009.

Other bloggers – the ‘left side’ of the press, as they are called in Vietnam, as opposed to the ‘right side’ or the official one – were also quick to post their reactions online, often using pen names.

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