A Vietnamese court sentenced dissident Catholic priest Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly to eight years in prison for anti-government activities, after a dramatic trial yesterday in which a defiant Ly shouted denunciations of the Communist Party.
A judge at Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Court in central Vietnam sentenced Ly on charges of disseminating anti-government documents and communicating with pro-democracy activists overseas. It was the first time a high-profile dissident's trial has has been opened to reporters.
Authorities said Ly, 60 -- who has been jailed twice before for his pro-democracy activities -- was plotting to merge his Vietnam Progression Party with overseas democracy activists.
Ly was brought handcuffed into the courtroom at the start of the trial, along with four co-defendants.
In a striking outburst of defiance in a country where dissent is harshly punished, Ly shouted denunciations of Vietnam's Communist Party during the trial.
A police officer quickly covered Ly's mouth during his first outburst, and removed him to a nearby room where proceedings were broadcast on a loudspeaker. Ly was later brought back, but he refused to answer prosecutors' charges against him.
"The Communists use the law of the jungle!" he shouted, before being removed again.
In sentencing, Judge Bui Quoc Hiep said Ly deserved "severe punishment" for masterminding efforts to boycott Vietnam's upcoming legislative elections, establish unsanctioned political parties and overthrow the government.
Hiep said Ly and his co-defendants had committed "very serious crimes that harmed national security."
Prosecutors had earlier said Ly told police that he "worked day and night" to produce anti-government materials.
"Father Ly turned his bedroom into the headquarters of political parties opposing the government," one of the prosecutors said during sentencing arguments. "His actions were extremely dangerous and violated national security."
Authorities allowed limited press coverage of the trial, a highly unusual move in a country where judicial proceedings against political defendants are typically conducted behind closed doors. About a dozen reporters and foreign diplomats watched the proceedings on a closed-circuit television in a separate room of the courthouse.
The sound was cut briefly when Ly shouted.
Last month, authorities moved Ly from his home in the central city of Hue, where he was under virtual house arrest, and took him to a smaller parish outside the city.
They seized hundreds of documents, six computers and 136 mobile phone cards, and much of that evidence was on display at the front of the courtroom yesterday.
The court sentenced four co-defendants who were accused of being Ly's accomplices.
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