Three Vietnamese Face Death By Firing Squad For Wanting To Bring Democracy To The Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Can you imagine if America put those on trial that wished to bring Communism to America? Hell, half of Congress would be in that defendants' box! Well, the Vietnamese are sending a pretty strong signal that they aren't going to put up with anyone in that country even thinking about bringing democracy to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam - four persons accused of just that are standing trial for treason and three of them face the death penalty for it. If convicted, they would stand before a firing squad and have their dreams of freedom extinguished.

From the report at Breitbart:

A human rights lawyer facing a possible death sentence testified Wednesday that he broke Vietnam's subversion law, saying he had been influenced by Western ideas about democracy and freedom while studying in the United States.
Le Cong Dinh, one of the country's best-known lawyers, is among four activists accused of working with Vietnamese exiles to promote a multiparty democracy in Vietnam, which the ruling Communist Party considers treason.

Three of the four defendants in the trial, which began Wednesday morning, could be sentenced to death by firing squad. The fourth, who is being tried as an accomplice, could face 15 years imprisonment.

This is a stark reminder of just why I constantly sound the alarm about the communistic plans and goals of those in the United States that want this same sort of oppression for our country. The article talks about Dinh being "influenced" by Western ideas...hell, say it like it is...he got a taste of FREEDOM! It is absolutely beyond me how any American citizen would want any form of this Marxist, socialist and/or communistic form of tyranny for you can see first hand that it's truly not about what's good for all - it's about what is good for a few and misery for the multitudes.

Some coming to this site might grow tired of my calls for protection of personal liberties and individual property rights...but this is exactly why I hammer on it. Once you begin to give up those rights and liberties, they rarely come back. When you decide to turn over your personal rights to something as personal as the well-being of your own body's health, you have taken a step towards this firing squad.

Dinh's biggest mistake was coming to America. He found out the truth. He tasted freedom. I liken it to a silver fox raised for its fur. A silver fox raised in a 2' x 2' cage for its fur has no idea of what its life would have been like in nature - it was born in that cage, it is raised in that cage and it dies in that cage - at no point in time does it "long" to be running through the fields or woods in pursuit of rabbits...it has no idea...its world has been and is that cage. Dinh left his cage. And now he will die for it.

Vietnam puts 4 democracy activists on trial


HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AP) - A human rights lawyer facing a possible death sentence testified Wednesday that he broke Vietnam's subversion law, saying he had been influenced by Western ideas about democracy and freedom while studying in the United States.
Le Cong Dinh, one of the country's best-known lawyers, is among four activists accused of working with Vietnamese exiles to promote a multiparty democracy in Vietnam, which the ruling Communist Party considers treason.

Three of the four defendants in the trial, which began Wednesday morning, could be sentenced to death by firing squad. The fourth, who is being tried as an accomplice, could face 15 years imprisonment.

The trial comes as factions jockey for power in advance of next year's Communist Party congress, and some observers have speculated that the current crackdown on dissent is connected to the upcoming political transition. Vietnam has convicted 10 other democracy activists in the last three months.

None of them is better known than Dinh. In addition to handling high-profile human rights cases, he once represented Vietnamese fish farmers fighting an unfair trade complaint brought by U.S. catfish growers. During closing arguments at a 2007 human rights trial in Hanoi, Dinh made a highly unusual public plea for freedom of expression.

Prosecutors said the defendants on trial Wednesday had committed "an extremely serious" national security crime by joining the outlawed Democratic Party of Vietnam and collaborating with overseas Vietnamese groups dedicated to ousting the communists. They were prosecuted under Article 79 of Vietnam's criminal code, which prohibits "carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people's administration."

As the proceedings began, two of the defendants denied wrongdoing, but two others, including Dinh, said they had broken the law.

"My actions were in violation of Article 79, specifically, participating in the Democratic Party of Vietnam, whose purpose was to call for a multiparty system, political pluralism and a new state," said Dinh, 41. It was unclear why Dinh acknowledged wrongdoing, but he may have been hoping for a more lenient sentence.

Dinh, the former vice chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, studied law at Tulane University in Louisiana on a Fulbright scholarship.

"During my studies overseas, I was influenced by Western attitudes toward democracy, freedom and human rights," Dinh testified.

He acknowledged receiving a draft of a proposed new Vietnamese constitution and attending a three-day seminar on nonviolent political change in Thailand.

The seminar was organized by Viet Tan, an international pro-democracy network with members inside and outside Vietnam. The government considers Viet Tan a terrorist organization, but U.S. officials say there is no evidence to support that view.

On the eve of Wednesday's trial, Viet Tan issued a statement condemning the "arbitrary charges" against the defendants, saying they were simply exercising their right to promote nonviolent change.

Also testifying Wednesday was Nguyen Tien Trung, who formed a student group called Viet Youth for Democracy in 2006 while studying information technology in France. During his visits to the West, he once met former U.S. President George W. Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In his testimony, Trung said he regretted joining the Democratic Party of Vietnam and forming the youth group.

"My actions violated Vietnamese law," said Trung, 26. "I was immature and made a mistake. I deeply regret it."

The other two defendants, both Internet entrepreneurs, denied wrongdoing and said they had only signed confessions under duress.

Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, 43, acknowledged organizing something called the Chan Study Group, which prosecutors say was committed to undermining the government. But Thuc said the group was simply formed to do research and make policy suggestions to Vietnamese leaders.

Le Thang Long, 42, acknowledged joining the study group, but said it was lawful.

"I'm innocent," Long said, testifying that he had been subjected to "psychological terrorism" by the security police.

It is virtually unheard of for political defendants to be acquitted in Vietnam. The main issue to be determined at trial involves the length of the sentence.

Foreign reporters and diplomats watched the trial in a separate room at the court on a closed-circuit television that was sometimes inaudible. They were prohibited from bringing cameras or recording devices.

New York-based Human Rights Watch condemned the proceedings, which are scheduled to end Thursday.

"Vietnam's hostility toward freedom of expression and peaceful dissent is becoming increasingly flagrant in the run-up to next year's party congress," said Brad Adams, the organization's Asia director. "Vietnam should stop criminalizing and imprisoning government critics."