Dissident Blogger Loses Appeal at Hanoi Court

Marianne Brown-VOA: HANOI — A court in Hanoi has upheld the sentence for one of Vietnam’s most prominent dissident bloggers, Le Quoc Quan, who was jailed for tax evasion in October. Police prevented hundreds of his supporters from gathering nearby.

The 42-year-old Quan - a lawyer by training and a devout Catholic - was sentenced to two and half years in jail in October for tax evasion. The charges were denounced by international human rights groups as politically motivated.

Hanoi: conviction of Catholic lawyer Le Quoc Quan upheld on appeal

He will remain in jail for 30 months and pay a US$ 57,000 fine for "tax evasion". The defendant's lawyer challenged the court, asking that his client be tried "for his activism," not on trumped-up charges. His family was not allowed to attend the trial. Outside the courthouse, more than a hundred people protested, calling for his release.

Hanoi (AsiaNews) - The Hanoi People's Court of Appeals today upheld the conviction and 30-month prison sentence against Catholic lawyer Le Quoc Quan, after a hearing that lasted less than half a day.

Outside the courthouse, at least a hundred supporters clamoured for his release, with dozens of police forming a cordon sanitaire to isolate the area.

Le Quoc was tried for tax fraud, an indictment that human rights associations and foreign governments branded as "politically motivated."

The court rejected his lawyers' appeal. The latter were unable to meet their client in jail because of the refusal by the authorities.

Vietnam – Blogger Le Quoc Quan’s prison sentence upheld on appeal (February 18, 2014)

France is concerned by the appeal court decision to uphold the sentence of Vietnamese lawyer and blogger Le Quoc Quan, who was sentenced in first instance on October 2, 2013, by the Hanoi People’s Court to a 30-month prison term for tax evasion.

France reaffirms its attachment to the freedom of expression and opinion, including on the Internet, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It also reaffirms that these rights and freedoms are guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a state party, and calls on the Vietnamese authorities to ensure compliance with it.

Vietnamese Government's Decision To Uphold Le Quoc Quan Conviction

Press Statement

Jen Psaki

Department Spokesperson

Washington, DC

February 18, 2014

We are deeply concerned by the Vietnamese Government’s decision to uphold the conviction of human rights lawyer and blogger Le Quoc Quan to 30 months in prison on tax evasion charges. The use of tax laws by Vietnamese authorities to imprison government critics for peacefully expressing their political views is disturbing. This conviction appears to be inconsistent with the right to freedom of expression and Vietnam’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and commitments reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We call on the government to release prisoners of conscience and allow all Vietnamese to peacefully express their political views.

Vietnam: Coalition condemns Appeal Court decision in Le Quoc Quan Case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Vietnam: Coalition condemns Appeal Court decision in Le Quoc Quan Case

Hanoi, 19.02.2014: A coalition of 14 human rights NGOs and networks strongly condemns this week’s decision by an appeal court upholding a 30-month prison sentence for Vietnamese human rights lawyer and blogger Le Quoc Quan. Mr. Quan has been detained since December 2012.

Vietnam: Appeals court upholds Le Quoc Quan conviction

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A Vietnamese appeals court has upheld the conviction and 30-month prison sentence against a U.S.-trained lawyer and well-known dissident found guilty of tax evasion in a case that international rights groups say was politically motivated.

The court in Hanoi rejected Le Quoc Quan’s appeal after a half-day trial on Tuesday. His lawyer Ha Huy Son quotes judges as saying they found no new evidence, and that the conviction by the intermediate court was well founded.

U.S.-Vietnam Relations in Spotlight After Blogger's Sentencing in Hanoi

Vietnam's warming relations with the U.S. appear set to hit a frosty patch after a Hanoi court Wednesday sentenced a prominent U.S.-trained human rights lawyer, one of the country's best-known bloggers, to 30 months in prison in a tax-evasion case widely viewed to be politically motivated.

Vietnam’s suppression should not be rewarded

(By Editorial Board, Published: October 6). AS CHINA’S power grows, Vietnam has been working hard to build closer relations with the United States. Vietnam’spresident visited the White House in July; it has encouraged U.S. involvement in territorial disputes between China and several Asian countries, including Vietnam; and it is proposing to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a free-trade deal with the United States and 11 other countries.

ENGLISH PEN: Le Quoc Quan sentenced to 30 months in prison

English PEN joins PEN International in protesting the 30-month sentence and heavy fine handed down to blogger and human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan for alleged tax evasion on 2 October 2013. PEN believes the charges to be politically motivated and that he has been penalised for his human rights work. We are therefore calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

According to our Vietnamese colleagues, Le Quoc Quan‘s wife was able to visit the camp where her husband is being held shortly after he was sentenced, on 8 October. Quan was allowed to talk to his wife and his mother for about 30 minutes, but was behind a screen so unable to see them. His wife reported that he is in poor health, but that his morale remains high, and that he had asked her to relay his sincere thanks to friends and fellow writers overseas for their ongoing support.

Viet Nam: UN rights office alarmed by conviction of renowned human rights lawyer

4 October 2013 – The United Nations human rights office today urged the Government of Viet Nam to review the conviction of human rights lawyer Le Quoc Quan, who was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $60,000 for alleged charges of tax evasion.

“We are alarmed by the fact that the conviction against Mr. Le Quoc Quan was handed down after only one day of trial, and there have been allegations of restrictions of access to the court by his family and supporters,” the spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Rupert Colville, told reporters in Geneva.

“This casts doubts whether his right to fair trial and due process were fully respected.”