The People’s Court of the northern province of Thai Nguyen sentenced 24-year-old Phan Kim Khanh to six years imprisonment for conducting anti-State propaganda in a public trial on October 25.

Phan Kim Khanh (Source: quochoi.org)

Khanh, a resident of Cam Khe district, the northern province of Phu Tho, admitted his lack of knowledge of politics and laws rendered him vulnerable to hostile forces, which led to his law-breaking. 

During the trial, Khanh expressed repentance for the wrongdoings he had committed and asked for another chance to “become a useful citizen.”

Khanh was arrested in March during his senior year at the international relations department of Thai Nguyen University. 

Since 2015, Khanh was found to have connected with overseas reactionaries to create social media accounts to spread false information about Party and State leaders, and distort policies and guidelines of the Party. 

The same day, police of the central province of Ha Tinh announced they have started legal proceedings against Tran Thi Xuan, born in 1976, a resident of Thach Kim commune, Loc Ha district, for attempting to “overthrow the people’s administration” as defined in Article 79 of the Penal Code. 

According to police, taking advantage of the Formosa sea environment incident last year, Xuan gathered crowds of fishermen to protest in Loc Ha district, causing social unrest. 

During one such protest on April 3, Xuan was identified as leading the protesters to destroy properties and violently threaten Government officials at Loc Ha district People’s Committee building. 

Xuan was also found to have joined several anti-State groups, and received money from hostile forces overseas as well as extremists in Vietnam to fund anti-State activities. 

Xuan’s actions were considered “dangerous” by law enforcement and her detention is fully in line with existing laws, Ha Tinh police said.-VNA