The Hanoi People’s High Court rejected the appeals by the four against an April trial verdict that charged them with activities “aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration”.
Nguyễn Trung Tôn and Trương Minh Đức were sentenced to 12 years in prison during the April trial, while Nguyễn Bắc Truyển received a 11-year prison sentence and Pham Văn Trội a 7-year sentence.
“The jury upheld the sentences, arguing that the convicted didn’t have any new evidence to show they are innocent,” Troi’s lawyer, Ngô Anh Tuấn, said,
“The sentences given to them are too heavy given that their activities haven’t left any adverse impacts on the society,” Tuấn said.
The four were part of a group who in 2013 formed “Brotherhood for Democracy”, which conducted “anti-government activities” to “build multi-party democracy” in Vietnam, according to a copy of the official indictment.
Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and does not tolerate criticism.
The country has been stepping up the sentencing and arrest of activists and handing them longer jail terms amid a crackdown on dissent.
“Vietnam must end its systematic repression against human rights defenders who simply seek to reform the government in the country where they live,” Phil Robertson, Deputy Asia Director of New York-based Human Rights Watch, said on Sunday.
Brotherhood for Democracy founder Nguyễn Văn Đài, who was handed a 15-year prison sentence at the April trial, did not appeal the verdict, along with a group member Lê Thu Hà, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in April.
In April, Đài’s wife Vũ Minh Khánh had said she was disappointed with the outcome of the trial and strongly protested it. Đài will “continue to fight and will appeal the verdict,” she said at the time.
Khánh declined to comment on Monday as to why Đài had decided not to appeal.
After April’s trial, Vietnam’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Lê Thị Thu Hằng said “there is no such thing as a ‘prisoner of conscience’,” in Vietnam.
“There’s no such thing as people being arrested for ‘freely expressing opinion,” Hằng said.