Upholding the 11-year prison sentence for Nguyen Nang Tinh for anti-state propaganda

On the morning of April 20, the High People's Court in Hanoi opened an appeal trial of Nguyen Nang Tinh for the crime of "Making, storing, disseminating or propagating information and documents aimed at opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam".

Scene of the appeal trial on the morning of April 20 for Nguyen Nang Tinh.

Previously, on November 5, 2019, the People's Court of Nghe An province held a first-instance trial of the case of Nguyen Nang Tinh (born October 4, 1976, hometown Quynh Hung commune, Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province; residing in hamlet 6, Nghi Phu commune, Vinh city; former teacher of Nghe An College of Culture and Arts) for the crime of "Making, storing, disseminating or propagating information, documents, and items against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam".

At the first instance trial, applying Points a, b, c, Clause 1, Article 117; Article 44, Article 122 of the Penal Code, the first instance trial panel sentenced defendant Nguyen Nang Tinh to 11 years in prison and placed the defendant on probation for 5 years from the date of completion of the prison sentence.

Believing he was wronged, Nguyen Nang Tinh filed an appeal against the first instance verdict.

At the appeal hearing on the morning of April 20, 2020, the Trial Panel questioned the defendant, reviewed and evaluated documents and evidence related to the case to clarify and fully clarify the details of each incident and each crime of the case.

The litigation process at the appeal hearing clarified that the documents and evidence in this case were collected objectively, comprehensively, and in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code.

Defense attorney for defendant Nguyen Nang Tinh.

The appellate panel determined that the court of first instance sentenced defendant Nguyen Nang Tinh for the crime of“Making, storing, disseminating or propagating information, documents or items against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”is the right person, the right crime, and the right provisions of the law. The defendant is a person with awareness and understanding, but has shown contempt for the law and opposition to the State, so applying a severe penalty to the defendant is very necessary. In order to punish, reform, and educate the defendant as well as for general prevention. The court of first instance has also correctly assessed the particularly serious nature of the case and fully considered the aggravating and mitigating circumstances for the defendant.

The appellate court also determined that the first instance judgment had ensured the strictness of the law, while meeting the requirements of fighting and preventing this type of crime in the process of building and protecting the Fatherland, so that everyone can live in a peaceful society, join hands to build an increasingly developed country, and also serve as a warning to elements who want to take advantage of democratic freedoms to conduct activities against the State, denying the great achievements in Vietnam's renovation process.

The jury questioned the defendant.

At the appeal hearing, Nguyen Nang Tinh and the lawyers also did not have any new evidence or details to mitigate the defendant's charges.

For the above reasons, the Appellate Court did not accept Nguyen Nang Tinh's appeal, decided to uphold the original charge, sentence of 11 years in prison, and place the defendant on probation for 5 years.