BBC News, 28
December 2012
Related
Stories
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| Nguyen Van Hai (centre) is a vociferous critic of the government |
The court
ruled that the sentences and convictions of writer Nguyen Van Hai and former
policewoman Ta Phong Tan should not be overturned.
Nguyen Van
Hai and Ta Phong Tan received 12 and 10 years in jail respectively after a
brief trial.
In a
separate development, another top blogger has been arrested.
Le Quoc
Quan, one of Vietnam's best-known dissidents, was arrested on Thursday on
charges of tax evasion, state media reports say.
Mr Quan was
detained as he took his children to school in Hanoi.
He has been
jailed before, and had recently complained of being under surveillance and
harassment.
Vietnam's
communist rulers have opened up the economy, but suppress political opposition
and ban private media. All newspapers and television channels are state-run.
Fearful
The case of
Nguyen Van Hai, also known as Dieu Cay, has attracted international attention
and was recently highlighted by US President Barack Obama.
Nguyen Van
Hai's lawyer Ha Huy Son told the BBC Vietnamese service that the appeal failed
because the court's judgement did not fully reflect the arguments presented on
his client's behalf at the hearing.
Ta Phong
Tan has been praised by campaigning groups for her work in exposing official
corruption.
In June her
mother committed suicide by setting herself on fire in front of government
offices in protest over her continuing detention.
 |
| Le Quoc Quan writes a popular blog exposing human rights abuses |
A third
blogger, who pleaded guilty, had his sentence reduced from four years to three.
Meanwhile
the state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper reported that Le Quoc Quan was being held for
tax evasion.
He was
treated in hospital in August after being beaten up by men he believed were
state agents.
The
dissident was so fearful of being assaulted again since the August incident
that he had reportedly begun carrying a golf club for self-defence.
Le Quoc
Quan was detained in 2007 for three months on his return from an American
government-funded fellowship in Washington.
He writes a
popular blog exposing human rights abuses and other issues not covered by the
state media.
In an
interview with the Associated Press news agency in September, he said that he
and his family and staff had received frequent warnings from the authorities.
But he
pledged to carry on speaking out against the government and in support of
multi-party democracy and freedom of speech.
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