Le Cong Dinh ejected by HCM City Bar Association

Security agencies release lawyer’s confession to ‘anti-state activities’

US claims on lawyer’s arrest groundless, says security department

Lawyer arrested for colluding with anti-State elements

Dung made the statement in Hanoi on June 23 in response to reporters’ questions regarding Vietnam’s reactions to a June 22 statement released by the head of the EU diplomatic corps in Vietnam.

He affirmed that Dinh was arrested for he had broken the law by colluding with several elements overseas to carry out activities in an attempt to overthrow the Vietnamese State. Dinh himself admitted his law-breaking activities.

Dung said the arrest was conducted in accordance with Vietnamese and international laws, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In Vietnam, he said, the citizens’ right to freedom of expression is guaranteed by law and exercised in reality.

He said that it is an obvious and necessary move for all countries, including those from the European Union, to deal with lawbreakers in order to ensure national security, social order and safety of their citizens.

It is regrettable that the statement by the head of the EU diplomatic corps in Hanoi is not objective and that it interferes in Vietnam’s internal affairs, though the issue was discussed during a recent dialogue between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the EU Troika, said the spokesperson.

VietNamNet/VOV