Hanoi: Six Vietnamese villagers who United States congressmen alleged were tortured, after a dispute over a cemetery, were convicted at a one-day trial today, relatives said.
In a case which also sparked concern from the US embassy, the villagers were arrested after a clash in May between residents and a large group of police in Con Dau Catholic parish, near the central city of Danang, said villagers.
The incident occurred when they tried to bury an 82-year-old woman, the residents said.
Four of the accused received nine-month suspended jail terms but two others were jailed, the family members said.
They said Nguyen Huu Minh was jailed for 12 months and a woman, Phan Thi Nhan, received a nine-month sentence.
Phan Le Nguyen Nhung, whose husband's jail term was suspended, said the six were charged with causing public disorder.
"My husband said he was innocent," said the wife of Minh, who received the heaviest sentence.
The relatives said hundreds of local people, some shouting in opposition to the trial, gathered at the court building, where access was limited.
The villagers' US-based relatives have testified about the incident before a congressional panel.
"The US Congress has started to accumulate numerous and credible reports of villagers from Con Dau facing violence, detentions, and police intimidation so that the local government can build an eco-tourism resort," they wrote to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and President Nguyen Minh Triet.
The Congressmen called for the immediate release of the six prisoners.
A US embassy spokesman said the mission was continuing to monitor the situation and had "expressed concern over use of force during the Con Dau incident and over reports of harsh treatment of detainees."
The embassy has urged "all sides" to exercise restraint, the spokesman said.
Vietnam has denied that any injuries occurred in what it said was a land dispute which had nothing to do with religion. It described accounts of mistreatment and detentions as an attempt to "smear Vietnam".There has been a long-running series of church-state land disputes in Vietnam but a foreign diplomat said earlier that this case was different because the cemetery was not owned by the church itself.
In a case which also sparked concern from the US embassy, the villagers were arrested after a clash in May between residents and a large group of police in Con Dau Catholic parish, near the central city of Danang, said villagers.
The incident occurred when they tried to bury an 82-year-old woman, the residents said.
Four of the accused received nine-month suspended jail terms but two others were jailed, the family members said.
They said Nguyen Huu Minh was jailed for 12 months and a woman, Phan Thi Nhan, received a nine-month sentence.
Phan Le Nguyen Nhung, whose husband's jail term was suspended, said the six were charged with causing public disorder.
"My husband said he was innocent," said the wife of Minh, who received the heaviest sentence.
The relatives said hundreds of local people, some shouting in opposition to the trial, gathered at the court building, where access was limited.
The villagers' US-based relatives have testified about the incident before a congressional panel.
"The US Congress has started to accumulate numerous and credible reports of villagers from Con Dau facing violence, detentions, and police intimidation so that the local government can build an eco-tourism resort," they wrote to Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and President Nguyen Minh Triet.
The Congressmen called for the immediate release of the six prisoners.
A US embassy spokesman said the mission was continuing to monitor the situation and had "expressed concern over use of force during the Con Dau incident and over reports of harsh treatment of detainees."
The embassy has urged "all sides" to exercise restraint, the spokesman said.
Vietnam has denied that any injuries occurred in what it said was a land dispute which had nothing to do with religion. It described accounts of mistreatment and detentions as an attempt to "smear Vietnam".There has been a long-running series of church-state land disputes in Vietnam but a foreign diplomat said earlier that this case was different because the cemetery was not owned by the church itself.