By Sunny Peter, International Business Times
The sentencing of a prominent U.S.-trained human rights lawyer to 30 months in prison in a tax evasion case by a Hanoi court on Wednesday could hit U.S.-Vietnam relations. Le Quoc Quan, 42, is one of Vietnam’s best-known activist-blogger. Following the sentencing, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi issued a statement accusing Vietnam of using tax laws for political ends and urging the government to release other political prisoners.
File photo of a Vietnamese police officer in Hanoi.
The court ruled Mr Quan guilty of evading payment on $30,000 in corporate income tax. Describing himself as being the victim of “political plots,” Mr Quan maintained his innocence throughout the half-day-long court proceedings.
“If the court represents justice, then find me innocent,” he said.
Reacting to the conviction, the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi said the use of tax laws by Vietnamese authorities to imprison government critics for peacefully expressing their political views is disturbing.
“We call on the government to release prisoners of conscience and allow all Vietnamese to peacefully express their political views,” the embassy statement said.
Mr Quan’s lawyer, Ha Huy Son, meanwhile, said that his client will appeal the conviction. “I myself found that the evidence that the prosecutors presented wasn’t really convincing,” Mr Son commented.
Read the full story by Sunny Peter from International Business Times.
Bút ký của Nam Lộc Sài Gòn “trong cơn hấp hối”, 30 Tháng Tư, 1975…
Nam tài tử 75 tuổi ra trình diện tại một đồn cảnh sát ở thủ…
Các nhà đàm phán của Hạ Viện và Thượng Viện Hoa Kỳ cho biết vào…
Một căn nhà cháy lớn khiến cho một người đàn ông thiệt mạng hôm Chủ…
Nếu người mua xe cũ chọn những chiếc xe này, bảo trì thích hợp, chúng…
Lãnh tụ Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov hôm Chủ Nhật, 28 Tháng Tư cho biết ông bổ…
This website uses cookies.