FM rejected claims by Amnesty Int'l and H.R Watch
Ha Noi, Oct. 1 (VNA) -- The Foreign Ministry today, Oct. 1, rejected claims by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch that the Vietnamese Government had used closed-door trials to impose prison terms on 14 ethnic minority people in Tay Nguyen (the Central Highlands).
Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh responded to queries from Radio Voice of Viet Nam by describing the groups' accusations as "a slander". Ms. Thanh said the hearing at the Dac Lac and Gia Lai people's courts - in which the defendants were tried on charges of sabotaging public security - were conducted publicly in accordance with the laws.
The accused had admitted their crimes and offences, expressed their willingness to mend their ways and asked the courts for clemency. The court verdicts strictly and clearly adhered to Viet Nam's laws.
Moreover the trials also demonstrated the clemency policy of the Party and State of Viet Nam towards convicts who were ready to mend their ways. "Those people present at the court sessions and the local residents of Dac Lac and Gia Lai expressed their satisfaction with the levels of punishment handed down to the convicts by the courts," she said.
