Key events:

• Lawyers of Tinh That Bong Lai Practitioner Request the Suspension of ‘Fraud’ Investigation
• Thai Court Postpones Extradition Hearing of Montagnard Activist Y Quynh Bdap
• Social Media User Sentenced to 7 Years for Defamation of Revolutionary Leader

Lawyers of Tinh That Bong Lai Practitioner Request the Suspension of ‘Fraud’ Investigation

On July 9, the Long An Provincial Police announced that they had officially prosecuted Le Thanh Nhat Nguyen, 34, a practitioner at the Buddhist temple Thiền am bên bờ vũ trụ (A Zen Temple on the Edge of the Universe), also known as Tịnh Thất Bồng Lai, on charges of “committing fraud to appropriate assets.” 

Four days later, on July 13, three defense lawyers of the temple, attorneys Dang Dinh Manh, Nguyen Van Mieng, and Dao Kim Lan, wrote a joint letter, which they published on social media, calling on the Long An Provincial Police Department and other relevant authorities to cease the criminal prosecution of Nhat Nguyen on “fraud” charges.