On February 22nd, the Higher People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City issued a decision to bring the case of Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hang (General Director of Dai Nam Joint Stock Company, Binh Duong Province) and her accomplices to an appellate trial on March 11th.
The first-instance trial in September 2023.
The appellate trial panel is chaired by Judge Phan Duc Phuong, with the participation of Judge Huynh Thanh Duyen and Judge Le Thi Tuyet Trinh.
This trial is opened due to the appeal of the defendants, requesting a leniency of their punishment, and the appeal of the parties with rights and obligations related to the case, against the first-instance judgment of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court dated September 21st, 2023.
Specifically, the appeals of Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai Nhi (40 years old, assistant of Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hang), Ms. Le Thi Thu Ha (31 years old, employee of Dai Nam Joint Stock Company), Mr. Huynh Cong Tan (29 years old, Head of Communication Department of Dai Nam Joint Stock Company), and Dr. Dang Anh Quan (former lecturer of the Law University of Ho Chi Minh City). Ms.
Nguyen Phuong Hang
did not appeal.
The parties with rights and obligations related to the case who lodged appeals against the first-instance judgment are Ms. Dinh Thi Lan (resident in Ho Chi Minh City) and Ms.
Dang Thi Han Ni
(former journalist, lawyer).
In the first-instance judgment, the defendants Nhi, Ha, and Tan were each sentenced to 18 months in prison; defendant Quan was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison;
Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hang
as the mastermind was sentenced to 3 years in prison.
All five defendants were convicted of the crime of “Exploiting democratic freedoms to infringe upon the State’s legitimate rights and interests, the rights, and legitimate interests of organizations and individuals.”
According to the content of the case, with the assistance of the defendants Nhi, Ha, and Tan, and the encouragement of defendant Quan,
Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hang
continuously organized livestream sessions discussing unverified information and making statements about the personal secrets and private lives of many individuals, which affected their personal reputations and seriously insulted the reputations and honors of Mr. Vo Nguyen Hoai Linh (artist), Ms. Nguyen Thi My Oanh (singer), Ms. Dang Thi Han Ni (former journalist, lawyer), Mr. Nguyen Duc Hien (Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Phap Luat Ho Chi Minh newspaper), Ms. Tran Thi Thuy Tien (singer) and her husband Le Cong Vinh (former football player), Mr. Huynh Minh Hung (singer), Ms. Dinh Thi Lan, Ms. Le Thi Giau, Ms. Truong Thi Viet Ha, and Mr. Nguyen Dinh Kim.
