Dinh Nhat Uy arrested for "failing to convince Dinh Kha to plead guilty?"

Vietnamese version: Trương Minh Đức / Translated by Như Ngọc (Danlambao) - Since the trial of two students, Dinh Nguyen Kha and Nguyen Phuong Uyen, on May 16, 2013 in Long An city, public opinion at home and abroad is impressed with the “fighting spirit” of two young patriotic students, which placed the communist regime in Vietnam in an awkward position for spreading the so-called “the confession of two young students” before the trial. The communist security office had broadcasted on national television such “confession program” for several days before the trial and claimed to achieve a victory over the propaganda war... suddenly, what had amazingly happened at the trial in Long An city on May 16 proved whatever the communist party had carefully staged were ridiculous. Dinh Nguyen Kha and Phuong Uyen Nguyen bravely stood upright. Looking straight at the faces of those who were appointed to act as judges, the two students took turn to say loudly “I am a patriot, I am not against my people, I resist the communist party and it is not a crime.”

The trial has passed for almost a month, then around 1:30 pm, June 15, 2013, the communist authorities dispatched more than 30 police personnel to surround the house of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Kim Lien, Nguyen Dinh Kha's mother. While she and her husband were not home, police used power shears to cut the door locks, broke into the house and ransacked it, and took away many items they wanted. In the meantime, the search warrant was imposed on a different address, which is the private residence of Dinh Nhat Uy. Police served a 3-month-detention order to Dinh Nhat Uy on charges of "abusing democratic freedoms or infringe upon interests of the state, civil organizations," Article 258 of the Penal Code.

The heartless regime wanted to eradicate the life of Mrs. Nguyen’s family!

Since the arrest of Dinh Nguyen Kha, local police have been harassing the family with many tricks; they had often made calls to the customers of Dinh Nhat Uy, those who came to his shop to repair their computer. Police threatened Uy’s customers if they do business with the family of "reactionary" people they would have to watch out for their safety! As a result, customers became afraid to do business with Dinh Nhat Uy. Suffering operating loss and taxes, Uy closed his shop to find other means to make a living. Graduated college as an Information Technology engineer, he finally had to give up his field to do the works of a farmer – growing vegetables, fishing, etc. to help his mother supply foods to his younger brother in prison.

One day before his arrest, Uy’s mother prepared foods for a visit to his younger brother, so his relatives (uncles, aunts, cousins…) came over to comfort his family. Uy told his relatives that the local authorities have isolated his family economically. His mother must sell family-grown bananas and vegetables at the local market to feed Kha in prison. Being unemployed, he made a trip to Saigon for a plan to republish about 400 units of two technical books on how to repair copy machines, of which he is a co-author. He hoped to generate some income from the proceeding to help his mother keep his younger brother survived in prison, but a publisher turned down his deal saying the books are not allowed to be republished for bearing his name, “NHAT UY,” as a co-writer.

From hostage to prisoner.

Since the communist authorities have found that Uyen and Kha’s family had filed the appeals on behalf of their children, Uy said that "someone" had repeatedly asked him to convince his younger brother to plead guilty in the upcoming appeal court in order to be pardoned. They also explained that, on one hand, if his brother would plead guilty, Uy could do his business as usual. On another hand, if his brother will continue to plead not guilty causing them to lose face with public opinion and the international community, then they will increase prison term by adding new charges resulted from the “ongoing investigation of possession of fireworks,” which can be accused as an act of "terrorism." Uy turned a deaf ear to their honey promises, and a stone face to their intimidating threats. He has strongly supported his brother’s acts of patriotism by posting the slogan "China, get out of the Southeast Asia Sea" on his Facebook account. Now, Uy is facing the charge of violating Article 258 of the Penal Code, being detained for 3 months, and will possibly receive a sentence from 2 to 7 years in prison plus a few years of probation for:

"Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon interests of the State and civil institutions," with such accuses, the questions must be raised: “Has Uy harmed the interests of which State or citizens?” Or “Is the Vietnamese communist party just doing everything possible to protect the interests of the Chinese people and the Chinese communist regime?

Article 258 is now becoming a "tail" of Article 88 of the Penal Code because it provides the communist party a ridiculously powerful mean to arrest or detain anyone who dares to criticize the totalitarian dictatorship in Vietnam today.