Notable events:

• Appellate Court Rejects Appeals of Two Khmer Krom Religious Activists
• Former Vice Chairman of Real Estate Group Wanted for ‘Abusing Democratic Freedoms’
• Vietnam Opposes China’s Dispatch of a Hospital Ship in the South China Sea
• 14 Killed in Another Apartment Fire in Hanoi

Appellate Court Rejects Appeals of Two Khmer Krom Religious Activists

An appellate court in Tra Vinh Province on May 23 rejected the appeals of Thach Cuong, 37, and To Hoang Chuong, 38, two activists who have campaigned for the rights to freedom of religion of the indigenous Khmer Krom population living in the southwestern part of Vietnam.

In a first-instance trial on March 20, Cuong was sentenced to four years, and Chuong received three years and six months in prison. Both were charged with violating Article 331 of the Penal Code, which forbids “abusing democratic freedom to infringe on the state and other individuals’ interests.”