VZCZCXRO1722
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHHI #1338/01 3440923
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 090923Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8820
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 5351
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 001338 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KIRF VM
SUBJECT: NO JAIL TIME FOR EIGHT THAI HA PROTESTORS 
 
REF: A) Hanoi 1165, B) Hanoi 1007, C) Hanoi 1205 
 
HANOI 00001338  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: After a day of testimony December 8, the Dong Da 
People's Court in Hanoi convicted eight Thai Ha protestors for 
destruction of public property and disturbing the public order. 
Seven of the parishioners were given suspended sentences; one was 
issued a warning.  None will serve jail time.  The defendants 
remained defiant throughout the trial, arguing that they committed 
no crime.  An estimated 1,000 Catholic supporters waited outside the 
courtroom amid tight security and greeted the ruling 
enthusiastically. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) COMMENT: The "Thai Ha trial," as it became known, was a 
high-profile event, and the light sentences were doubtless dictated 
from above.  While taking a tough line on the land disputes 
themselves, the government appears eager to maintain -- even to 
improve -- relations with the Catholic Church (ref. A).  In their 
protracted vigil, Thai Ha priests and parishioners disobeyed 
repeated calls from the People's Committee of Hanoi and local 
officials to disperse -- normally a serious offense.  It is 
significant that of the thousands that participated in the prayer 
vigils at Thai Ha and Nha Chung earlier this year, only eight were 
convicted of minor offenses and received no jail time.  END SUMMARY 
AND COMMENT. 
 
The Trial 
--------- 
 
¶3.  (U) On December 8, eight members of the Thai Ha Parish were 
tried at the Dong Da People's Court in connection with land-use 
demonstrations that resumed in August (Ref. A).  The eight, ranging 
in age from 21 to 63, faced two sets of charges.  The first, 
destruction of public property, focused on the defendants' roles in 
tearing down a low-level retaining wall surrounding the disputed 
property.  The second, disturbing public order, focused on the 
subsequent demonstrations, in particular the allegation that the 
vigils obstructed traffic, caused excessive noise early in the 
morning and late at night, and disrupted class at a nearby school. 
The trial was led by Judge Hien, with a panel of two other judges 
assisting. 
 
¶4.  (U) In addition to Poloff, diplomats from Australia, the Czech 
Republic (representing the European Union), and Norway were allowed 
to attend the trials; a Swedish diplomat was not allowed entry.  Two 
foreign journalists (representing AFP and NPR) and two dozen 
domestic journalists also attended the trials, while Reuters and AP 
were denied permission to attend.  Police officials did not allow 
diplomats or the media into the actual courtroom; they watched via 
video feed from an adjacent room. 
 
¶5.  (U) Over 1,000 parishioners and other supporters had marched to 
the courthouse from the Thai Ha parish, many carrying palm leaves 
and wearing pictures of the Virgin Mary around their necks. 
Security in the area was tight with hundreds of police, including 
riot police, present.  As the parishioners arrived in front of the 
courthouse, they argued with local officials to allow them to enter 
in order to view the trial.  In the end, the police agreed to let in 
four priests and a small group of family members of the accused. 
Throughout the day, the crowd sang and prayed in peaceful support of 
the eight on trial. 
 
The Proceedings 
--------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) Of the eight defendants, two had remained in pre-trial 
detention -- Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhi for three months and Ms. Ngo Thi 
Dung for over two months.  The remaining defendants had been 
arrested in August and September and were released after detentions 
varying from 2 weeks to over a month (Ref B).  Nhi and Dung were 
seated at the front of the courtroom with three policewomen sitting 
on either side and between them.  The other six accused sat behind 
them and wore large crucifixes around their necks. 
 
¶7.  (U) For most of the trial, prosecutors and judges read the 
charges against the eight defendants, questioned the defendants 
about their activities at the parish, and listed each of the many 
prayer vigils conducted at the disputed site over the past eight 
months.  At several points in the trial, prosecutors used video 
footage of the protestors dismantling a section of the retaining 
wall to prove the defendants' involvement. 
 
¶8.  (U) Only two defendants were represented by attorneys -- one 
whom, Le Tran Luat, presented a spirited defense of his client Ms. 
Nguyen Thi Viet.  Luat argued that the prosecution's case was 
groundless for three reasons: 1) the Catholic Church owned the 
disputed land, so under Vietnamese law the brick wall belonged to 
the Church and parishioners could do as they pleased.  2) the 
parishioners only tore down a three-meter section of the much larger 
wall in mid-August, while one month later the government tore down 
 
HANOI 00001338  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
the remainder of the wall surrounding the rest of the property in 
order to turn the land into a public park (Ref C).  In this regard, 
parishioners actually did the government a favor by assisting in 
dismantling the wall, the attorney argued.  3) Praying and singing 
religious hymns should not be considered disturbing the public 
order.  The attorney also argued that the alleged crimes did not 
reach the threshold of severity required under the law for 
punishment. 
 
Verdicts 
-------- 
 
¶9.  (U) After a thirty-minute deliberation, Judge Hien reread the 
charges and pronounced the defendants guilty.  In reading the 
sentences, Hien noted that of all the defendants, Ms. Nhi had been 
the one who had done the most to instigate the others.  The 
sentences received by the defendants were as follows: 
 
-- Ms. Nguyen Thi Nhi: 15-month suspended sentence with 24 months of 
administrative probation.  Considering time already served in police 
detention, the suspended sentence was reduced to 11 months and 17 
days. 
-- Ms. Ngo Thi Dung: 13-month suspended sentence and 22 months 
administrative probation.  Her suspended sentence was reduced to 10 
months and 16 days. 
-- Mr. Le Quang Kien: 13-month suspended sentence and 22 months 
administrative probation. 
-- Ms. Nguyen Thi Viet: 12-month suspended sentence and 24 months 
administrative probation. 
-- Mr. Nguyen Dac Hung: 12-month suspended sentence with 
"non-detention political reeducation" (Note: Less invasive than 
administrative detention, this involves periodic meetings with 
police or other MPS officers.  End note.) 
-- Mrs. Le Thi Hoi: 15-month suspended sentence with non-detention 
administrative reeducation. 
-- Mr. Giuse Pham Tri Nang: 12-month suspended sentence with 
non-detention administrative reeducation. 
-- Mr. Thai Thanh Hai: warning, in consideration of his status as a 
college student. 
 
The Crowd Reacts 
---------------- 
 
¶10.  (U) Once news of the verdicts was released, the several hundred 
supporters still assembled outside the courthouse broke into loud 
applause and began chanting "innocent, innocent."  After the trial, 
parishioners presented large bouquets of flowers to each of the 
defendants upon exiting the courthouse. 
 
MICHALAK