On May 7, the court of appeal heard the case of Mr. Dinh La Thang and Trinh Xuan Thanh.
Mr. Dinh La Thang, Trinh Xuan Thanh and accomplices were tried on appeal based on their appeal for innocence and reduced sentences.
Transferring the case of Trinh Xuan Thanh and accomplices to the Court of Appeal
The Hanoi People's Court transferred the case file of Trinh Xuan Thanh and 21 accomplices in the case that occurred at PVC to the Hanoi High People's Court for appeal.
On May 7, the High-Level People's Court in Hanoi is expected to open an appeal hearing on the case of violations that occurred at the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) and the Vietnam Oil and Gas Construction Corporation (PVC) in investing in the Thai Binh 2 Thermal Power Plant Project.
The chairman of the appeal hearing is Mr. Nguyen Van Son, the trial is expected to last 10 days.
According to the announcement, 15 out of 22 defendants appealed, most of them asking for a reduction in their sentences. Only Mr. Trinh Xuan Thanh (former Chairman of the Board of Directors of PVC) pleaded not guilty to the crime of embezzlement of property under Article 278, intentionally violating the State's regulations on economic management causing serious consequences atArticle 165 (Penal Code 1999).
Mr. Dinh La Thang (former Chairman of the Board of Members of PVN) said that the first instance judgment did not fully and objectively consider and limit the scope of the defendant's responsibility; the results of the damage assessment of the case did not ensure a legal basis, leading to the panel of judges' assessment of the defendant's role and responsibility being inappropriate and unfair, and deciding on an overly harsh penalty.
In addition to the 15 defendants appealing the verdict, a number of other people with related rights and obligations also filed civil petitions. Among them, the son of defendant Trinh Xuan Thanh filed a petition requesting the return of his property (villa...).
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Mr. Trinh Xuan Thanh was escorted after the first instance trial on January 22 ended. Photo:Giang Huy. |
Previously, on January 22, after 14 days of trial and deliberation, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced defendant Trinh Xuan Thanh to 14 years in prison for the crime specified in Article 165, life imprisonment for the crime specified in Article 278, the total sentence is life imprisonment. Mr. Dinh La Thang was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the crime specified in Article 165.
The court of first instance considered this to be an especially serious economic corruption case. Mr. Dinh La Thang, Trinh Xuan Thanh and the defendants all held key positions in state-owned economic groups and when assigned to projects of strategic importance to the state, they took advantage of their special positions to commit violations. The defendants' actions slowed down the progress and caused thousands of billions of dong in capital increase in the Thai Binh 2 Thermal Power Plant project.