Release International

A high-profile Christian lawyer has been arrested on charges of 'distributing propaganda against the state'.

Paul Le Cong Dinh has defended several human and religious rights activists, including fellow lawyers Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan, who were jailed on similar charges in May 2007 (Prayer Alert, May 29, 2007).

Dinh was arrested at his home in Tan Phong ward, Ho Chi Minh City, on June 13. State-run media report that police found 'documents distorting the country's socio-economic policies' in his office and home. Police also allege he has colluded with 'domestic and foreign reactionaries to sabotage the Vietnamese state'. Dinh has been critical of the state in the media and online.

Forty-one-year-old Dinh, who was educated in France and the US, was charged under Article 88 of Vietnam's criminal code, which prohibits distributing information harmful to the Government. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Dai and Nhan, who were well-known for their work in defending religious liberty in Hanoi, are serving four- and three-year sentences respectively. Their trial lasted just four hours.

(Sources: Associated Press, BBC, ICN, Spero News, VietNamNet, VOV News)

Pray
* Pray that charges against respected lawyer Paul Le Cong Dinh will be dropped.
* Pray for the release of rights lawyers Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan.

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