Dissident Catholic priest challenges Vietnam court

by Frank Zeller

A dissident Catholic priest defiantly shouted "Down with the Communist Party" as he went on trial in Vietnam on Friday with four co-defendants for spreading propaganda against the state.
Father Nguyen Van Ly, 60 -- who has already spent a total of 14 years in jail for his activism -- could face up to 20 more years behind bars if convicted by the court in the central city of Hue.
Police say he is a founding member of the outlawed "Bloc 8406" pro-democracy coalition, named after its April 8 launch last year, and a driving force behind the banned Vietnam Progression Party and another political group.
The other defendants all admitted to be members of the Vietnam Progression Party, one of several grassroots organisations to emerge last year in Vietnam, where the government controls the media and all political activity.
Ly's co-defendants -- founding committee chairman Nguyen Phong, 32, office secretary Hoang Thi Anh Dao, 21, technical advisor Nguyen Binh Thanh, 51, and teacher Le Thi Le Hang, 44 -- all face the same charge.
Authorities in Hue took the unusual step of allowing foreign media and diplomats into the courtroom for the first few minutes of the trial and letting them watch proceedings via closed-circuit television.
But the sound feed from the court to the media room was briefly cut after a gaunt-looking and handcuffed Ly twice yelled "Down with the Communist Party" before a policeman could cover his mouth with his hand.
Judge Bui Quoc Hiep reprimanded Ly, saying, "If you violate the rules for a third time, if you don't keep silent, we will ask the police to take you out of the courtroom." Ly was later moved to a separate holding area.
Phong told the court he had drafted the party's charter and platform, and written a "call for the establishment of non-communist political parties" in Vietnam, citing documents that have been published online.
The trial, set to last just one day, will be the first of several expected in coming months against prominent pro-democracy advocates, also including two Hanoi human rights lawyers detained this month.
Ly -- who has been jailed three times since the 1970s for peaceful activism against the state -- is accused of resuming his political activities after he was freed from jail in a 2005 amnesty and placed under house arrest.
He has in the past drawn the ire of the government by submitting written testimony to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom.
Diplomats from the European Union, the United States, Australia, Sweden and Switzerland attended the trial in Hue, the former royal capital.
Media rights watchdog Reporters Without Borders called on the court not to impose prison sentences in the case.
"Father Ly's trial is a very important test for the credibility of the Vietnamese judicial system," said the Paris-based group in a statement.
"Vietnam's constitution protects free expression, but the Communist Party does not tolerate criticism. We call on the judges to adhere to the law and acquit the defendants."
Police raided Ly's residence on February 18 and seized computers, mobile phone cards, Internet connection devices and stacks of documents, and moved him to the Ben Cui parish, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Hue.
Computers, equipments and printers were exhibited as evidence in court on Friday.
Under article 88 of Vietnam's criminal code, which bans "propagating against" the state, he would face three to 12 years' jail if found guilty, or a 20-year sentence for "particularly serious crimes."
In coming months two other dissidents, arrested on March 6, are expected to be tried on the same charges -- Hanoi human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and his colleague Le Thi Cong Nhan, also a member of the Vietnam Progression Party.
Vietnam -- one of the world's five remaining communist-ruled states alongside China, North Korea, Laos and Cuba -- has been adamant that it will prosecute those who oppose the government.
"The Vietnamese constitution states that Vietnam has a one-party political system," Deputy Public Security Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Huong was quoted as saying by the Thanh Nien daily last week.
"It's illegal if some people want to establish another party, not to mention secretly inciting other people to join their organisation and aim to overthrow the existing government."