The Supreme Court keeps the original prison sentence of Cu Huy Ha Vu

Cu Huy Ha Vu was sentenced to seven years in prison and a three year probation period in his residential area after serving his sentence (calculated from his arrest on November 5, 2010)  for conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam after a court concluded at 7pm Tuesday in capital Hanoi .

The Supreme People’s Court maintained the original prison sentence from the first trial of Cu Huy Ha Vu for “conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”, at an appeal court held in Hanoi on August 2.

Vu was defended by four lawyers Tranh Dinh Trien, Tran Quoc Thuan,.Tran Vu Hai and Vuong Thi Thanh.  

After four hours, Nguyen Van Son, the chairman of Hanoi 's Supreme Court said having examined opinions of the procuracy, lawyers’ arguments and the defendant’s answers, the jury came to conclusion from evidence and argumentation at the appeal court, there were enough grounds to reject Cu Huy Ha Vu’s appeal and maintain the first sentence.

According to the indictment from the Hanoi People’s Procuracy, from 2009 to October 2010, Cu Huy Ha Vu, who was born in 1957 and resided at No. 24, Dien Bien Phu Street, Dien Bien ward in Ba Dinh district of Hanoi  wrote many anti-State articles and posted them on the Internet as well as gave incorrect information at interviews.

In those articles and interviews, Vu distorted and maligned Party and State guidelines and policies, defamed the administration and State institutions, and blackened the Vietnamese people’s resistance wars.

In addition, Vu demanded Article 4 of the Vietnam ’s Constitution be abolished.

Thus Vu violated Article 88, Item 1, point c of the Penal Code when “conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”.

The sentence took effect as from the day of sentencing.

A number of people from Ba Dinh district, Hanoi , the residential locality of the defendant, some of his family members, related persons, representatives from foreign diplomatic corps, and domestic and foreign reporters attended the court.