- Nineteen prisoners use cutlery to break out of cells at Winchester prison
- France wants progress in Ukraine before Russia returns to G7
- Italy president begins talks to seek way out of government crisis
- Italian PM expected to resign as political chaos deepens
- Russia says US cruise missile test ‘regrettable’
- Kremlin - No date set for Normandy talks on Ukraine despite Macron meeting
- Egypt court hands out 6 death sentences on terror charges
- Putin says Russian nuclear explosion poses no threat
- Russian panel eyes alleged foreign interference in protests
- Gran Canaria wildfire triggers evacuation of thousands of people
- PM Johnson calls on Germany and France to compromise on Brexit
- Sudan's ex-president Bashir arrives at corruption trial
TEHRAN, Jun 24 -A court in Vietnam on Monday sentenced an US citizen to 12 years in prison after finding him guilty of "attempting to overthrow the state" in a trial which lasted only half a day, his lawyer said.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -Michael Phuong Minh Nguyen, 55, pleaded guilty, but had asked that his sentence be reduced so he could be reunited with his family, his lawyer Nguyen Van Mieng told Reuters via telephone after the trial at the Ho Chi Minh City court.
Nguyen will be deported after serving his jail sentence.
"It's such a long sentence...," said Mieng.
"Michael admitted guilt at the trial and asked the jury to reduce his sentence so that he could soon reunite with his family," he said.
Nguyen was accused of inciting Vietnamese people to join protests and of attempting to attack government offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with molotov cocktails and slingshot, reported Tuoi Tre newspaper, citing the indictment.
Nguyen, who was born in Vietnam and has lived in the United States since he was a child, was detained in Vietnam in July 2018 on suspicion of activity against the government, said his brother-in-law, Mark Roberts.
The court also sentenced two Vietnamese men to eight years and 10 years in prison for the same offense, Mieng said, adding that they will face three years house arrest after serving their prison terms.
"Their objective is to cause riots in an attempt to overthrow the administration of Vietnam and eradicate the leading role of the (Communist) party," the Tuoi Tre report cited the indictment as saying.
Source: Reuters
Your Comment