The defendants were among thousands of parishioners who joined prayer vigils and peaceful rallies over the past year in the capital Hanoi demanding the return of Catholic church land seized by the state half a century ago.

Hundreds of Catholic supporters outside the Hanoi court building greeted the eight defendants - four men and four women - with flowers as they left the building, which was guarded by rows of riot police.

Seven defendants received suspended jail terms of between 12 and 15 months, minus time already served in police custody and probation periods of up to two years, and one received a warning, the presiding judge said.

To back the state's case, prosecutors in court showed video footage of Catholic protesters tearing down part of a brick wall around a disputed parcel of land adjacent to the Thai Ha Redemptorist parish.

Most church lands and many other buildings and farms were taken over by the state after communists took power in North Vietnam in 1954. The disputed Tai Ha property was used by a state textile factory that has since been demolished.

The Tai Ha property and another disputed plot of land in the centre of Hanoi the site of the former Vatican embassy adjacent to the main St Joseph's Cathedral were turned into public parks in recent months.

Several of the defendants in Monday's hearing acknowleged taking part in some of the unauthorised mass meetings held since before Christmas 2007, but they told the court they were doing so to protect church property.

Also on trial but earlier released on bail were two more women Nguyen Thi Viet, 59, and Le Thi Hoi, 61 and four men -- Le Quang Kien, 63, Pham Chi Nang, 50, Ngyen Dac Hung, 31, and Thai Thanh Hai, 21.

Hoi denied causing public disorder, saying "when we pray, we are quiet."

Four foreign diplomats and two journalists for foreign news organisations were allowed to follow the hearing via closed-circuit television.

Vietnam's tightly controlled media has largely ignored the trial.

Agence France Presse - December 9, 2008