Vietnam cuts jail term against dissident by half

— The lawyer for a French-Vietnamese math professor convicted of trying to overthrow Vietnam's government says an appeals court has cut his client's sentence from 36 months to 17 months.

Pham Minh Hoang, 56, was convicted for posting 33 articles against the one-party Communist system as well as of holding membership in the banned group and recruiting others to join it.

Lawyer Tran Vu Hai says the appeals court in Ho Chi Minh City reduced the sentence citing Hoang's cooperation with police and his commitment to abandon opposing the government.

The appeals court, however, upheld the three years of house arrest when Hoang serves out his sentence in January in a trial lasted for about three hours.

The Associated Press


