Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the upcoming trials of Vietnamese human rights activists, (1) lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, (2) Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton, and (3) activist Nguyen Bac Truyen, who face prison sentences of between 12 and 20 years, life imprisonment or capital punishment if convicted.

The Minister of State, Harriett Baldwin MP, has issued a public statement to underline that we are deeply concerned by the conviction of the six members of the Brotherhood for Democracy and the draconian sentences they received. We do not accept that the peaceful expression of views on Vietnam’s own political system, or promotion of basic and universal human rights, should constitute a criminal offence.