Thai Ha parishioners guilty but free
Eight parishioners from Hanoi's Thai Ha parish have walked free after seven of them received suspended sentences for disturbing public order and damaging property in an ongoing land dispute with the Vietnamese government.
ABS-CBN News reports the defendants were among thousands of parishioners who joined prayer vigils and peaceful rallies over the past year in the capital Hanoi demanding the return of Catholic Church land seized by the state half a century ago.
Hundreds of Catholic supporters outside the Hanoi court building greeted the eight defendants, four men and four women, with flowers as they left the building, which was guarded by rows of riot police, an AFP reporter saw.
Seven of the eight defendants denied the charges.
"Our vigils were a good thing for the government, because we prayed to God to enlighten the leaders' minds," defendant Le Quang Kien, 63, told the court.
Kien said parishioners staged the vigils because they had heard that authorities planned to sell the land to private buyers, Top News says.
One defendant, Nguyen Thi Nhi, 46, admitted she had incited "public disorder" during the vigils.
The trial was held at a local government meeting hall rather than the Dong Da District People's Court. Police surrounded the location to keep unauthorised visitors out, while a crowd of parishioners from Thai Ha parish held a demonstration outside.
Two foreign press agencies and several diplomats were allowed to attend the trial.
Seven defendants received suspended jail terms of between 12 and 15 months, minus time already served in police custody and probation periods of up to two years, and one received a warning, said the presiding judge.
(Source: CathNews, Published: December 09, 2008http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=10630 )
Eight parishioners from Hanoi's Thai Ha parish have walked free after seven of them received suspended sentences for disturbing public order and damaging property in an ongoing land dispute with the Vietnamese government.
ABS-CBN News reports the defendants were among thousands of parishioners who joined prayer vigils and peaceful rallies over the past year in the capital Hanoi demanding the return of Catholic Church land seized by the state half a century ago. Hundreds of Catholic supporters outside the Hanoi court building greeted the eight defendants, four men and four women, with flowers as they left the building, which was guarded by rows of riot police, an AFP reporter saw.
Seven of the eight defendants denied the charges.
"Our vigils were a good thing for the government, because we prayed to God to enlighten the leaders' minds," defendant Le Quang Kien, 63, told the court.
Kien said parishioners staged the vigils because they had heard that authorities planned to sell the land to private buyers, Top News says.
One defendant, Nguyen Thi Nhi, 46, admitted she had incited "public disorder" during the vigils.
The trial was held at a local government meeting hall rather than the Dong Da District People's Court. Police surrounded the location to keep unauthorised visitors out, while a crowd of parishioners from Thai Ha parish held a demonstration outside.
Two foreign press agencies and several diplomats were allowed to attend the trial.
Seven defendants received suspended jail terms of between 12 and 15 months, minus time already served in police custody and probation periods of up to two years, and one received a warning, said the presiding judge.
(Source: CathNews, Published: December 09, 2008http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=10630 )