Defendant Tran Cong Khai at the trial on June 27

Tran Cong Khai, born in 1963 and residing inDistrict 3 of the city, was found guilty of the offence, which is regulated inArticle 109 of the 2015 Penal Code.

At the first-instance trial, the court ruledthat Khai’s activities were particularly serious and dangerous for the society,directly harming the existence of the people’s administration and the State ofthe Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The defendant used to be a lawyer and a notary,which meant he was knowledgeable about law, politics and society. However,although Khai knew clearly the purposes of the so-called “Chinh phu quoc giaViet Nam lam thoi” (Provisional National Government of Vietnam), he stillparticipated in this terrorist organisation, according to the court.

At the trial, Khai pleaded guilty.

The “Chinh phu quoc gia Viet Nam lam thoi” waslisted as a terrorist organisation by the Ministry of Public Security basing onVietnamese and international law.

In this case, via social networks, a US nationalnamed Kelly Trieu (also known as Trieu Thanh Hoa, born in 1968, a key member of“Chinh phu quoc gia Viet Nam lam thoi”) induced and instructed Khai to takepart in this organisation. Khai was assigned to call on many people to takepart in a “referendum” to elect Dao Minh Quan as President to return to takethe leadership in Vietnam.

Khai made friends with Nguyen Doan Quang Vien,Le Ngoc Hien and Tran Thi Ngan Giang. They discussed and made a list ofparticipants in the “referendum” to send to this organisation. They alsoplanned to sabotage the APEC meetings, but they were arrested before havingtime to realise this plan.
 
The court decided to sentence Khai to eightyears in prison but did not prosecute Vien, Hien and Giang, citing the three’slimited legal awareness, being induced by other people, unserious violations,and repentance. They were handed over to local authorities for management andeducation.-VNA