Three of the six people at Peng Lei Buddhist Church that were brought to a trial reported being threatened or tortured to give unfavorable testimony during the investigation period.
On July 20, the People’s Court of Duc Hoa district, Long An province opened the first-instance trial to try six members of the family-based Buddhist church on the charge of “abusing the freedom and democracy infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals” according to Clause 2, Article 331 of the Criminal Code.
Mr. Le Thanh Trung Duong in court denied participating in the production and posting of videos on the social network YouTube, but the Trial Panel said that in the indictment, he had many testimonies admitting to participating in these two activities.
The proceedings of the trial were transmitted to a projection screen located at the Duc Hoa District Cultural Center and shown by YouTubers live on social networks, Mr. Trung Duong confirmed that during interrogation he was forced to confess by the investigating officer who used humiliation. He said:
“During the investigation, I was beaten three times by an officer named Phong in Duc Hoa district, and handcuffed my hands like a prisoner, so tightly that the blood did not circulate.
At that time I was about to faint, so at that time I asked the officer to go into the inner room, and I was threatened by an officer named Phap, so my testimonies in the indictment were not true.”
As for Mr. Le Thanh Nhat Nguyen, he said that he was beaten during the investigation phase: “When I did not have a lawyer, I was beaten, but when the lawyers were present, I was no longer beaten, so I require a re-investigation of the whole incident.”
They were arrested between January and May this year, except for Mr. Le Tung Van – who was under house arrest due to his old age (92 years old).
The sixth person detained in the case, Mr. Le Thanh Nhi Nguyen, also said he was threatened by the investigative agency and had used his phone to record this coercive and threatening process.
A representative of the investigative team of the Investigation Security Agency of Long An Province was questioned by the Trial Panel about the allegations of the three defendants, he said that the entire proceedings and investigation are done objectively and in accordance with the law with audio and video recording.
However, the representative of the investigator suggested that “the defendant present documents and evidence” to show that there was a case of using corporal punishment.
Right at the beginning of the trial, lawyer Dang Dinh Manh, representing the group of defense lawyers for six defendants, proposed to suspend the trial under Article 251 of the Criminal Procedure Code because of forged incriminating evidence collected from a fake channel, and falsified case files. However, his request was rejected by the court, and the trial continued.
Commenting on this decision of the Duc Hoa district court, lawyer Ha Huy Son (who is not related to the trial) told a reporter of Radio Free Asia:
“(If) the evidence to accuse the defendants, in this case, is not lawful, then in my opinion, in this case, it is not necessary to postpone the trial.
Because in criminal proceedings, there is no requirement that the trial must convict the accused.
If the defendants consider that the evidence is not legitimate and they have not committed any crime, the court must suspend the case and release the defendants according to the presumption of innocence provided for by the Criminal Code.”
The indictment of the People’s Procuracy of Long An province said that the group of defendants living at address 191A, Lap Thanh hamlet, Hoa Khanh Tay commune, Duc Hoa District, Long An province, mastered by Mr. Le Tung Van, had committed acts violate the law.
They are believed to have posted many articles and clips on social networks Facebook and YouTube between 2019 and 2021 with false information, fabricated, distorted, propaganda, incitement to offend the reputation of the Duc Hoa district police, insulting Buddhism, insulting the honor and dignity of Mr. Tran Ngoc Thao (ie Venerable Thich Nhat Tu).
The evidence presented by the prosecution authorities is five video clips posted on YouTube channels allegedly managed by the defendants: four clips posted on the YouTube account “5 little monks – Meditation on the edge of the universe” and a clip titled “Hurry for help, Tinh That Bong Lai is about to bleed. Diem My was kidnapped and missing at the police station” posted on the YouTube account “Nhat Nguyen – Hoan Nguyen Official.”
A few days before the trial was conducted, a group of lawyers including Mr. Trinh Vinh Phuc, Dang Dinh Manh, Nguyen Van Mien, Ngo Thi Hoang Anh, and Dao Kim Lan of the Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association filed a petition, urgently proposing to prosecute the case of infringement of judicial activities.
Before the trial, the lawyers asked the court to summon nearly 40 people related to the case, including those who denounced the six defendants. However, according to lawyer Nguyen Van Mieng, the court only summoned four more people and three people came under the summons.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
