The court that handed down the prison terms on January 20 said on Friday it had received appeal letters asking for a reduction in their prison terms, the Lao Dong newspaper said.

After a day-long trial human rights lawyer Le Cong Dinh, 41, French-trained computer expert and blogger Nguyen Tien Trung, 26, Internet entrepreneur Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, 43, and Le Thang Long, 42, were convicted of "activities aimed at subverting the people's administration".

Thuc received a 16-year sentence, Trung seven years, while Dinh and Long got five years each, the court said. All except Long could have been sentenced to death.

They were found guilty of a well-organised non-violent campaign, in collusion with "overseas exile reactionary organisations", aimed at overturning the government with the help of the Internet.

Although the defendants did not enter formal pleas, Dinh and Trung told the court in Ho Chi Minh City, the former Saigon, that they had violated the law, an admission that the judge said he took into account.

Thuc alleged he was "mistreated" during the investigation process, which he said "was not conducted in accordance with the law".

The European Union criticised the court after the hearing for not looking into the claims.

The case sparked concern in Europe and the United States, and among a global association of lawyers, human rights watchdogs and press freedom groups.

Diplomats and rights organisations denounced the trial as symptomatic of increased repression of dissent in Vietnam.

Some observers see a link between the cases and next year's Communist Party Congress, at which high-ranking leaders will be selected.

Agence France Presse - january 31, 2010