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Two dissidents go home to house arrest

Both served four years for 'anti-government' activities
Two dissidents go home to house arrest
Published: September 11, 2012 09:54 AM GMT
Updated: September 11, 2012 10:03 AM GMT

Two political dissidents have completed four-year jail terms and have returned home to begin several years of house arrest. Nguyen Van Tuc returned to his home in northern Thai Binh province yesterday. He will be under house arrest for a further three years. “My husband has served four years in jail for the people and country. My children and I are very proud of him,” his wife Bui Thi Re told Voice of America. She said he suffers illnesses relating to the heart and spine but his spirits remain high. Tuc, 49, who was arrested on September 10, 2008, produced articles on human rights, sovereignty, and land disputes between people and government authorities. The father of two and five other dissidents went on trial in Hai Phong city in October 2009. They were accused of “restoring and disseminating documents that slandered government officials and posing them on the internet.” They were also accused of hanging banners and giving out anti-government leaflets in Hai Phong city and Hai Duong province. Writer Nguyen Xuan Nghia, 64, who was accused of being the leader of those dissidents, is serving a six-year sentence in jail and will have three years of house arrest. The other four arrested have completed their sentences. Local bloggers also reported today that political dissident Pham Van Troi, who went on trial in Ha Noi in 2008, has ended his four-year prison term and returned home. He will be under house arrest for four years in Hanoi. Related reports Catholic lawyer among jailed dissidentsHmong protesters get jail terms

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