Upholding the original verdict, sentencing Hoang Duc Binh to 14 years in prison

Overview of the appeal hearing held on the morning of April 24, 2018. Photo: PV

This morning (April 24), the People's Court of Nghe An province held an appeal trial of Hoang Duc Binh's case on charges of "Resisting a person on official duty" and "Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and citizens".

According to the records of the authorities, Hoang Duc Binh has committed the following violations of the law: During his time living and working in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh participated in a number of organizations, associations, and opposition groups, such as "NoU Saigon" and "Vietnamese Labor Movement".

On December 25, 2015, Hoang Duc Binh distributed leaflets in Ho Chi Minh City and was temporarily detained by Ho Chi Minh City Police for 24 hours to investigate the act of distributing leaflets to attract people to join the "Independent Union"; was administratively fined 24,000,000 VND for violating regulations on storing, distributing publications and printed products that are not publications (Article 27, Decree 159/ND-2013 dated November 12, 2013 of the Government regulating administrative sanctions in the field of press and publishing), but Binh did not pay the fine and fled to Nghe An.

After returning to Nghe An, Hoang Duc Binh frequently posted and shared on his personal Facebook information and propaganda documents that slandered the regime and promoted the movement for pluralism and multi-partyism. Taking advantage of the environmental incident in the central coastal region, as Vice President of the “Vietnamese Labor Movement”, Hoang Duc Binh promoted and established the “Central Fishermen’s Association” with the intention of creating a peripheral organization, gathering forces, attracting Catholics and fishermen from the central region to join the organization; searching for a “nucleus” to incite protests and disrupt security and order.

On the morning of February 14, 2017, Hoang Duc Binh and hundreds of people departed from Song Ngoc Parish, Quynh Luu District, to Ky Anh (Ha Tinh) under the name of suing Formosa Company. The group carried banners and slogans and traveled by many means of transport, traveling in rows of 3 and 4, causing disorder in traffic safety.

While the traffic police were organizing traffic flow and restoring order, Hoang Duc Binh, sitting in the car, urged the driver to close the car door and disobey the traffic police's orders. The car then stopped right on Highway 1A, causing a serious traffic jam on Highway 1A that stretched for kilometers.

A car obstructed traffic on National Highway 1A, forcing authorities to use specialized equipment to remove the car from the scene on February 14, 2017. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Health.

While traveling with the group and even while sitting in the car, Binh often used his mobile phone to record and live-stream videos and comments on his personal Facebook page to slander, distort the truth, and defame the authorities, with the aim of misleading listeners into misunderstanding the nature of the incident.

In May 2017, the Investigation Police Agency of Nghe An Province Police executed an order to temporarily detain Hoang Duc Binh on two charges of resisting a person performing official duties and abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and the legitimate rights and interests of citizen organizations.

On February 6, 2018, the People's Court of Dien Chau district, Nghe An province, opened a public first-instance trial of the criminal case against defendant Hoang Duc Binh, born on February 10, 1983, residing in Hung Trung commune, Hung Nguyen district (Nghe An) for the crimes of "Resisting a person on official duty" and "Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the rights and legitimate interests of organizations and citizens".

Defendant Hoang Duc Binh at the appeal hearing on the morning of April 24, 2018.

At the first instance trial, the Court sentenced Hoang Duc Binh to 7 years in prison for “Resisting a person on official duty” and 7 years in prison for “Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the rights and interests of organizations and citizens”. The total sentence that Hoang Duc Binh received was 14 years in prison.

On February 12, 2018, defendant Hoang Duc Binh filed an appeal.

At the appeal hearing held on the morning of April 24, 2018, based on the content of the case, based on the documents in the case file that were debated at the trial, the Trial Panel determined: this is a case in which the defendant Hoang Duc Binh clearly recognized that resisting people on official duty and taking advantage of democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the rights and legitimate interests of organizations and citizens is a violation of the law, lack of civic responsibility, and contempt for the law.

The defendant's actions are dangerous to society, infringing on the proper functioning of State agencies and organizations in administrative management, causing public discontent. Therefore, it is necessary to apply a strict penalty corresponding to the nature of the crime, isolating the defendant from social life for a period of time to ensure the strictness of the law. Considering the aggravating and mitigating circumstances, the defendant has no aggravating or mitigating circumstances.

The judge announced the verdict. Photo: PV

Based on the personal background, the nature and level of danger of the crime, the subjective consciousness of the defendant, the content of the defendant's appeal; the opinions of the defense attorney, witnesses; and the request of the representative of the Procuracy at the trial, the Trial Panel does not accept the appeal of the defendant Hoang Duc Binh, upholding the original judgment.

The defendant Hoang Duc Binh was declared guilty of the crimes of “Resisting a person on official duty” and “Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and citizens”.

Applying points c, d, clause 2, article 257; clause 2, article 258; Article 50 of the Penal Code: sentence defendant Hoang Duc Binh to 7 years in prison for the crime of "Resisting a person on official duty" and 7 years in prison for the crime of "Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and citizens".

The total sentence is 14 years in prison for the two crimes. The prison term is calculated from the date of detention on May 15, 2017. The appellate judgment takes effect from the date of sentencing.

Nghe An Provincial People's Court hears appeal of Hoang Duc Binh case

(Baonghean.vn) - On the morning of April 24, 2018, the People's Court of Nghe An province held an appeal trial of Hoang Duc Binh's case on charges of "Resisting a person on official duty" and "Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and citizens".