Court jails Aussie baker

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November 12, 2019

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Court jails Aussie baker

Source: Agencies | 00:05 UTC+8 November 12, 2019 |

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A COURT in Vietnam yesterday sentenced a 70-year-old Vietnamese-Australian man to 12 years in prison after finding him guilty of “terrorism,” a lawyer who attended the trial said.

The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement on its official news website that Chau Van Kham was being tried for being a member of the US-based human rights group Viet Tan, which Vietnam regards as a “terrorist” body. It made no mention of the verdict.

It said Kham had helped raised funds for anti-state activities, joined anti-Vietnam protests in Australia and recruited members for Viet Tan.

Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and does not tolerate criticism from both within and outside Vietnam.

The People’s Court of Ho Chi Mih City also ordered Kham, a retired baker from New South Wales, to be deported after serving the sentence, said lawyer Nguyen Van Mieng, who is representing a co-defendant of Kham.

“At the trial, Kham said he loves Vietnam and doesn’t have any intention to carry out terrorism activities in the country,” Mieng said. “The prosecutors stuck to the idea that he’s a member of Viet Tan to charge him with terrorism.”

“The jail terms for political prisoners are getting longer and longer,” added Mieng.

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Court jails Aussie baker

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