Judge Nguyen Quoc Hoi upheld the light sentences that a lower court issued last December, when seven of the defendants received suspended sentences ranging from 12 to 15 months, and another received a warning. They all got two years of probation.

Hoi said the court was lenient with the defendants because of their misunderstanding of the law and issues related to the land dispute at the Thai Ha church in Hanoi.

Several of the defendants were arrested after they knocked down a section of the wall surrounding the property and set up an altar and a statue of the Virgin Mary last August.

"The defendants' actions were dangerous and undermined national unity," Hoi said. The defendants argued they were merely exercising their right to free speech and committed no crime.

"We are innocent," defendant Le Thi Hoi told the court Friday. "Peaceful prayer cannot be dubbed 'disturbing the public order.'" The case arose from a series of mostly peaceful vigils near a parcel of land once owned by Thai Ha Church in Hanoi — worth millions of dollars. The communist government confiscated the plot several years after taking power from the French in 1954. It was then given to a state-owned garment factory.

After last year's vigils ended, city officials turned the land into a public park.

Hanoi authorities say the land belongs to the city, claiming a former parish priest signed papers turning it over in 1962. Church members insist they have documents that prove the land was never turned over.

Nearly a thousand Catholics and scores of riot police gathered outside a Hanoi court as the proceedings began Friday morning, with church members carrying signs and chanting prayers for the eight defendants who were convicted and given light sentences in December.

Catholics outside the courthouse Friday morning carried signs saying, "Justice! Truth!" and "You are victims." A priest speaking through a megaphone urged them to remain calm and warned them not to interfere with the police.

The Thai Ha vigils were a bold step in a country where church-state relations are often tense and the government frowns on public protests of any kind.

Last year, Catholics also held vigils at a second valuable parcel of land in central Hanoi, the site of the former Vatican embassy, which closed after the communist government took power.

In each case, the Catholics began their demonstrations after hearing rumors the government planned to sell the properties to developers.

With more than 6 million followers, Catholicism is the second largest religion after Buddhism among Vietnam's 86 million people. Around the country, Masses at Catholic churches are heavily attended.

Vietnam has often come under international criticism for its record on religious and human rights. But in recent years, relations between Catholics and the government have begun to improve, emboldening church members to assert themselves more.

Vietnam and the Vatican have been discussing the possibility of re-establishing diplomatic relations.

The Associated Press - March 28, 2009

Vietnam police accused of terrorising school children with interrogations about Catholic parents

On the morning of March 23, the police interrogated the children of the parish of Lap Thach. Now the children are afraid to go to school. A woman who was cleaning the parish cemetery was also seen being apprehended by the officers.

There are about 2,500 faithful in the parish of Lap Thach. It is in the municipality of Nghi Thach, district of Nghi Loc, on the road to the Cua Lo beach. It is about 10 kilometres from the office of the diocese of Vinh, and 300 from Hanoi.

Priests and parishioners have protested against the actions of the authorities, who, following Women's Day, sent 40 police officers to repress the rally held on the occasion. Some officials threatened the women, provoking strong protests on the part of many of the faithful.

In recent days, the officers have interrogated the parishioners, especially the women, who have received letters of summons in order to frighten them, but none of them has gone to the police station. Unsatisfied, the police officers are continuing to go to Nghi Thach Junior High School, asking the professors to interrogate the children.

"I don't know anything about this business with the adults," says one student, "but the police and the school haven't stopped their interrogations. They continue to seek information from the children. Nguyen, who teaches at the school and is the head of the Young People's Union, has told the Catholic students that they cannot go to school if they do not answer the questions of the police."

The children are in a state of fear. A number of other Catholic students have not been allowed to go to school, because of the police investigations. They have gone to the parish to ask the priests to defend them. The priests of the parish of Lap Thach have written a petition to send to government offices in defense of the faithful, especially of the fundamental rights and dignity of women and children.

It is unimaginable that a society should still condone actions like these.

AsiaNews - March 28, 2009