HANOI (Reuters) – Vietnamese human rights lawyer and activist Nguyen Van Dai was jailed for 15 years on Thursday, his wife said, along with five other activists who were given prison terms of 7-12 years.
Dai, 48, was charged in a Hanoi court with activities тАЬaimed at overthrowing the peopleтАЩs administrationтАЭ at a tightly-guarded trial in the communist country.
тАЬIm very disappointed with the trial and strongly protest it,тАЭ DaiтАЩs wife Vu Minh Khanh said. тАЬHe is innocent and he pleaded innocent at the trial. He will continue to fight and will appeal the verdictтАЭ.
Despite sweeping reforms to its economy and showing openness to social change, VietnamтАЩs ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and has zero tolerance for criticism.
U.S. Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink said last month that an intensifying crackdown on activists in Vietnam was тАЬdeeply troublingтАЭ.
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