[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 18, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1918-E1920]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 17, 2007

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, in light of the Vietnam Human 
Rights Act of 2007, H.R. 3096, which was debated on the House Floor 
yesterday, September 17, 2007, and which passed overwhelmingly this 
afternoon, I would like to include in the record portions of the trial 
proceedings for Attorney Nguyen Van Dai and Attorney Le Thi Cong Nhan 
who are referenced in this legislation. Both individuals were 
ruthlessly seized by the Government of Vietnam on March 6, 2007, in 
Vietnam's most recent crackdown on democracy and human rights 
advocates. The accused each received years of imprisonment after being 
found guilty of ``disseminating propaganda against the Socialist 
Republic of Vietnam,'' I urge each and every one of my colleagues to 
read this chilling account of the Vietnamese justice system.

  The Socialist Republic of Vietnam; Independence--Liberty--Happiness


                    The People's Court of Hanoi City

       Preliminary criminal sentence, No. 153/2007/HSST, May 11, 
     2007. In the name of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, The 
     People's Court of Hanoi City. The Preliminary Trial Committee 
     is composed of:
       Presiding Judge: Mr. Nguyen Huu Chinh. People's Jurors: 1. 
     Mr. Nguyen Thanh Ha, 2. Mrs. Tran Hong Thuy. Court clerk/
     recorder: Mrs. Nguyen Thi Huyen, cadre of the People's Court 
     of Hanoi City, Representative of The Hanoi City People's 
     Office of Procuracy: 1. Mr. Dinh Trong Nghia, Procurator, 2. 
     Mr. Dinh Quoc Thai, Procurator.
       On May 11, 2007, the following defendants were 
     preliminarily tried by the People's Court of Hanoi City under 
     Criminal Docket No. 138/2007/HSST of April 24, 2007:
       1. NGUYEN VAN DAI born 1969, in Da Trach, Khoai Chau 
     District, Hung Yen Province; domiciled at Apartment 302, 
     House Z8, Back Khoa Communal Building, Bach Khoa Ward, Hai Ba 
     Trung Precinct, Ha Noi City; occupation at the time of 
     committing crimes: Head Attorney of the Thien An Law Office; 
     educational background: Grade 12/12; born of Mr. Nguyen Van 
     Cap and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thom; married to Vu Minh Khanh; 
     arrested and placed under temporary detention since March 6, 
     2007; is present at the trial.

[[Page E1919]]

       2. LE THI CONG NHAN: born 1979 in Go Cong Tay, Tien Giang 
     Province; domiciled at Apartment 48 (currently Apartment 
     316), House A7, Government Office Employees' Communal 
     Building, Phuong Mai Ward, Dong Da Precinct, Ha Noi City; 
     occupation at the time of committing crimes: Staff Attorney 
     of the Thien An Law Office; educational background: Grade 12/
     12; born of Mr. Le Minh Duc and Mrs. Tran Thi Le; arrested 
     and placed under temporary detention since March 6, 2007; is 
     present at the trial.
       Defendant Nguyen Van Dai's trial attorneys: Mr. Tran Lam, 
     Hai Phong City Lawyers Bar (in attendance), Mr. Dam Van Hieu, 
     Attorney, Thong Nhat Law Office, Ha Noi City Lawyers Bar (in 
     attendance), Defendant Le Thi Cong Nhan's trial attorney, Mr. 
     Tran Lam, Hai Phong City Lawyers' Bar (in attendance).
       BE IT JUDGED THAT: 1. Relative to defendant Nguyen Van Dai. 
     At both the investigative offices and the trial, defendant 
     Nguyen Van Dai admitted that he had written a number of 
     articles, e.g. ``Freedom to Form a [Political] Party'' and 
     ``Vietnamese People Have the Ability to Build a Multi-Party 
     System''. The defendants had distributed these articles 
     through the media of reactionary Vietnamese organizations 
     overseas, and participated in interviews via the Internet 
     with overseas anti-socialist elements. The contents of 
     these articles were meant to smear and degrade the leading 
     role of the VCP. He maintained that under current 
     circumstances, because the VCP did not have enough ability 
     to lead the Revolution Vietnam is in dire need of a change 
     of the ruling party or to a pluralistic, multi-party 
     system in order to emerge out of poverty.
       As provided for in Article 4 of the SVN's Constitution, the 
     VCP--the vanguard of the worker class and loyal 
     representative serving the interests of the worker class and 
     the working people--is the leading force of the State and 
     society. That positively affirms that since the VCP is the 
     only preferred leader of the Vietnam Revolution all other 
     political parties and their activities are in fact in non-
     compliance and illegal. Because of the fact that the 
     defendant is the one who drafted the ``Bylaws'' of the 
     Democratic Party and supported the platforms of Hoang Minh 
     Chinh's Democratic Party, and that he has also written a 
     number of articles, criticizing the VCP and advocating a 
     pluralistic and multi-party regime, Dai has obviously 
     committed a serious violation of the Constitution and laws of 
     Vietnam.
       Based on the admissible evidences and Dai's own admissions 
     at the trial, from the time when the Thien An Law Office was 
     founded to his arrest, Dai had never served as a trial lawyer 
     and acted according to his duties, as specified in his 
     professional license. Instead, he had made contacts and 
     exchanged information regarding democracy and human rights 
     with a number of political opportunists who acted in 
     opposition to the VCP and against the SRV. The defendant had 
     joined and enthusiastically supported the platforms of the 
     so-called Vietnam Progression Party (VPP) and Bloc 8406, a 
     [political] organization founded illegally by Nguyen Van Ly 
     in Vietnam. The defendant had conferred and concurred with 
     Nguyen Van Ly on the platform of the VPP, as well as visited 
     Ho Chi Minh City to engage a number of Do Nam Hai's 
     supporters in various efforts to support both Bloc 8406 and 
     the VPP.
       The defendant was also a member of the ``Independent Trade 
     Union''. He admitted to his contacts with such overseas 
     individuals as Nguyen Dinh Thang, Vu Quoc Dung, Tran Ngoc 
     Thanh, etc., which focused on ``democracy and human rights 
     issues''. However, seized documents and evidences have 
     attested to the intentions of these exiled Vietnamese who are 
     fiercely opposed to the State. The defendant's contacts with 
     these subjects have gone beyond the discussion of democracy 
     and human rights issues, and they have in fact intended to 
     form a number of organizations and political parties in 
     opposition to the VCP and the SRV. According to witness Tran 
     Van Hoa's statements, on September 2006 defendant Dai asked 
     the former to come to Hanoi so that they could together make 
     a trip to China, where they planned to meet with Tran Ngoc 
     Thanh, an overseas Vietnamese in Poland to discuss the 
     founding of the ``so-called'' Independent Trade Union.
       Having searched the Thien An Law Office headed by Nguyen 
     Van Dai, and the residence of Nguyen Van Dai, the 
     investigative authorities seized numerous documents, among 
     which there were 121 stacks of documents. Some documents 
     containing contents of extremely reactionary nature are meant 
     to twist the facts about the VCP, and to smear the honor and 
     tarnish the reputations of the Party, President Ho Chi Minh 
     and the top leaderships of the Party and the State, e.g. a 
     document titled ``The Vietnamese Communist Party is Bad 
     Karma,'' and ``The Secrets of the New Vietnamese Prime 
     Minister.'' Another 475-page document, authored by a ``Quoc-
     Quoc,'' is full of distortions with regard to the history of 
     the revolutionary struggle, the policies of the VCP and the 
     State throughout the different stages of the Revolution, as 
     well as blemishes and badmouthing against the high-ranking 
     officials and top cadres of the Party.
       The document, titled ``Diary of a Victim of Injustice,'' 
     contains the slants and distortions of facts, and false 
     allegations that the government and police brutally repressed 
     legal complainants. In addition, the authorities also 
     captured many documents written by other anti-State political 
     opportunists, notably ``Democracy and Human Rights in VN'' 
     and ``Eternal Aspirations,'' authored by Nguyen Thanh Giang. 
     Scores of other documents and publications circulated by 
     overseas Vietnamese organizations include the bi-monthly ``Tu 
     Do Ngon Luan,'' (Freedom of Speech) the ``To Quoc'' 
     (Fatherland) magazine, the ``Tu Do Dan Chu'' (Freedom & 
     Democracy) newsletter, the Bloc 8406-proclaimed ``The 
     Declaration of Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam''. Being 
     very reactionary in content, these documents are full of 
     distortions of the current realities of Vietnam and 
     allegations that all the inalienable rights of the Vietnamese 
     people are being brutally trampled upon and the contentions 
     that their goal is to struggle for a change of regime in 
     Vietnam.
       At the trial, the defendant admitted to having contacts and 
     Internet direct-linked interviews with foreign newspapers and 
     radio stations regarding the issues of democracy and human 
     rights in Vietnam. However, documented evidences have 
     revealed that during these contacts and interviews the 
     defendant always provided untruths and distortions regarding 
     the democracy and human rights situation in Vietnam, and 
     provocative badmouthing against the socialist regime and the 
     VCP, and he called for a change of regime as well. At the 
     same time, he had received other documents calling for a 
     boycott of the 2007 National Assembly Election. Another 
     document ``Wear White on the 1st and 15th of the Month in 
     Support of Democracy,'' a campaign document published by Bloc 
     8406 proclaiming 10 conditions for a multi-party National 
     Assembly election. Another Bloc 8406 document initiated the 
     launching of a boycott of the 2007 One-Party National 
     Assembly Election.
       Nguyen Van Dai held classes regularly at the Thien An law 
     office to provide propaganda on the subject of Democracy, 
     Human Dignity and Human Rights. Witnesses Dong Thi Giang, 
     Khong Van Thanh, Nguyen Ba Truc, and Giap Van Hieu that Dai 
     had invited to participate in the classes, all affirmed that 
     during those class lectures both Dai and Nhan had zealously 
     badmouthed the political and social state of the nation, the 
     Government of the SRV. Dai had alleged that the SRV does not 
     respect human rights and has employed torture and violence 
     against innocent citizens. The defendant, while maintaining 
     that the ``Party Nominates, Citizen Elects'' election trick 
     is undemocratic, called for a change of the socialist regime 
     that would deny the VCP its monopoly of power in order to 
     achieve social equality.
       The defendant's criminal conduct has constituted the crime 
     of ``disseminating propaganda against the Socialist Republic 
     of Vietnam,'' as stipulated in Article 88 of the Criminal 
     Code and determined in the indictment of the Hanoi City 
     People's Office of Procuracy. :
       2. Relative to defendant Le Thi Cong Nhan. At the 
     investigative offices and at the trial, the defendant 
     admitted that she was a member of the Vietnam Progression 
     Party (VPP) and that of Bloc 8406 (founded by Nguyen Van Ly). 
     Nhan participated as the VPP spokesperson. She indicated that 
     she had joined the party voluntarily. The Trial Committee is 
     of the opinion that the purpose of this organization is to 
     act against the VCP and the SRV in order to drastically 
     change the political regime of Vietnam. Her organization 
     appealed for a pluralistic, multi-party system and incited 
     the people to ``Wear White'' as a demonstration of support 
     for democracy. As such, the defendant's participation and 
     support of the VPP's platform is a violation of State laws.
       The defendant herself wrote the article, ``The Truth about 
     the Repeal of Decree 31/CP of April 14, 1997''. The content 
     of her article indicates that the repeal of this decree was 
     phony with the intent to misdirect public opinion. In her 
     interviews, the defendant also commented on Directive 37 
     issued by the Prime Minister that this directive is 
     undemocratic as it prohibits freedom of the press. All her 
     articles contain fabrications, defamations, ridicules, and 
     attacks on the regime. The defendant maintained that the 
     Vietnamese political structure is dictatorial, infantile, 
     and uncivilized. Nhan's articles and documents were 
     distributed in the form of direct answers to foreign radio 
     networks such as BBC, RFA (Radio Free Asia), or Internet-
     linked interviews with overseas Vietnamese exiles.
       In a house search, the investigative authorities have 
     seized many stacks of documents which had been circulated by 
     both domestic and overseas political opportunists. These 
     documents contain bad-intent distortions of the facts and 
     protests against the current directions and policies of the 
     Party and the State. They include: appeals to ``boycott the 
     National Assembly Election of 2007; demands for a 
     pluralistic, multi-party system, etc.; instructions for the 
     populace to ``Wear White'' on the first and 15th day of the 
     month to support democracy in Vietnam; ``Let's Paint a 
     Portrait of a Free and Democratic Vietnam''; ``How to Fight 
     Fear'' (written by Nguyen Van Ly); ``The Declaration of 
     Democracy for Vietnam 2006''; ``The Preliminary Platform of 
     the Vietnam Progression Party''; ``The Founding of an 
     Alliance of National Forces for Freedom, Democracy and Human 
     Rights''; ``Bloc 8406 To Announce 10 Conditions for a Multi-
     Party National Assembly Election and How To Boycott This 
     Election''; ``Bloc 8406 initiating a Campaign to Reject the 
     Single-Party National Assembly Election of 2007''.

[[Page E1920]]

       The defendant has also provided her students with 
     propaganda in her so-called ``Democracy'' course. With great 
     discontent, she has criticized and smeared our regime, 
     falsified the history of the People's VCP-led revolutionary 
     struggle, as well as called for the replacement of the 
     current VCP by another political party or a pluralistic, 
     multi-party system.
       The defendant's criminal conduct has constituted the crime 
     of ``disseminating propaganda against the Socialist Republic 
     of Vietnam,'' as stipulated by Article 88 of the Criminal 
     Code and charged with in the indictment of the Hanoi City 
     People's Office of Procuracy.
       The crimes both defendants have committed are very severe. 
     They have taken advantage of their democratic rights and 
     freedom to produce, possess, and distribute various documents 
     meant to libel the People's Government and oppose the SRV. 
     Their conduct is deemed to be dangerous to society. It has 
     generated bad opinion both in and outside of the country, and 
     has directly damaged our national security interests, as well 
     as the benefits and achievements that the Vietnamese people 
     have made throughout our long struggle for building and 
     safeguarding the nation. Their conduct has resulted in the 
     tarnished reputations of the VCP, the socialist regime, and 
     our leaders among the populace. They, being Vietnamese 
     citizens, shall have the absolute obligations to abide by the 
     laws of Vietnam. Consequently, they are to be severely 
     punished, once found to be in violation, as provided for by 
     the laws of Vietnam.
       Although still at young age and having yet made 
     contributions to the country, both defendants Nguyen Van Dai 
     and Le Thi Cong Nhan have committed serious crimes to the 
     detriment of our national interests and security. They need 
     to be severely punished before the court of law in order to 
     appreciate fully the effects of reform, education, and 
     deterrence. In this case, defendant Nguyen Van Dai has been 
     found to have actively engaged in carrying out his crimes 
     although his admissions were not truly sincere, Dai is to 
     deserve a heavier punishment. Defendant Le Thi Cong Nhan has 
     also actively committed her crimes. As she was found not to 
     be fully cooperative in her admission at the investigative 
     offices and at the trial, she is to be punished according to 
     the severity of her crimes.
       House arrest shall be an additional requirement to their 
     main punishments, as stipulated by Article 92 of the Criminal 
     Code.
       Evidential material: The investigative authorities have 
     seized numerous evidences from the Thien An Law Office, as 
     well as the residences of defendants Nguyen Van Dai and Le 
     Thi Cong Nhan. It is determined that these evidences were 
     used as a means to have committed their crimes, and therefore 
     shall be confiscated and kept in State's depositories. Other 
     captured evidences, of insignificant values, shall be 
     destroyed.
       For the above-mentioned reasons, BE IT DECIDED THAT: 
     Verdict: Defendants Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan are 
     guilty of ``disseminating propaganda against the Socialist 
     Republic of Vietnam''.
       Penalty: Nguyen Van Dai is sentenced to 5 (five) years of 
     imprisonment, effective as of his temporary detention which 
     began on March 6, 2007.
       Penalty: Le Thi Cong Nhan is sentenced to 4 (four) years of 
     imprisonment, effective as of her temporary detention which 
     began on March 6, 2007.
       Additional penalty: Defendant Nguyen Van Dai is sentenced 
     to 4 (four) years of house arrest upon completion of his 
     imprisonment term. Defendant Le Thi Cong Nhan is sentenced to 
     3 (three) years of house arrest upon completion of her 
     imprisonment term.
       Evidential material: to be confiscated and kept in State 
     depositories 6 CPUs, 1 flat-screen monitor, 1 desktop 
     computer (16 inch, make Samsung), 1 digital recorder (make 
     Digital Live SDR-6404), 1 Card Reader (make QS 034 Ba07), 1 
     desktop computer cable, 1 notebook (make HP:S/NCND604172F; PN 
     EP412UA # ABA), 1 scanner (make Canon F915800), 1 modem (make 
     AR 325W, 6H057-15379), 1 Webcam (Colorvis). Destroyed 2 hard 
     drive, 1 hard disk (make HD080HJ-PIN 137216FL740777P/ V FS S/
     N081KL702016), 1 hard disk (make SP4011N-S/NSO1JJ50YB41562-
     PN: 1187J2FYB 15242P/VFS).
       These evidential materials are currently stored at the 
     Hanoi Evidence Depository Locker (Executed per the receipt of 
     April 23, 2007).
       Defendants Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan are to be 
     fined a court fee of 50.000 dongs each and are entitled to 
     filing appeals within 15 days of the pronouncement of their 
     preliminary sentences.
       For the Preliminary Trial Committee, Nguyen Huu Chinh, 
     Presiding Judge.

                          ____________________