Sentence reduction is small consolation

Cyberdissident Dr. Le Nguyen Sang, who was convicted earlier this year on claims that he tried to weaken the communist party's authority by distributing pro-democracy materials, got his sentence reduced on appeal from five years to four years in prison on Friday. My response -- "whoop-dee-doo" -- is echoed by Tran Nam, who sees through the sham trial and in which lawyer Nguyen Bac Truyen also had his sentence reduced to 3 years, and journalist Huynh Nguyen Dao received 2 1/2 years in prison.

"The People' s Democratic Party (PDP) strongly protests the recent sentence of Dr. Sang's appeal trial. Once again, it shows that Ha Noi authorities have ignored international community' s condemnation and continued to violate human rights in Viet Nam.

Dr. Le Nguyen Sang and Vietnamese dissidents including Father Nguyen Van Ly, lawyers Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, Tran Quoc Hien, Nguyen Bac Truyen, journalist Huynh Nguyen Dao and many other detained individuals are all innocent. Ha Noi should immediately release them instead of continue to crack down on people who dare to exercise freedom of expression's rights."