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Vietnam tries American detained during nationwide protests
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American-Vietnamese citizen William Nguyen (C) is escorted by policemen to a courtroom for his trial in Ho Chi Minh City on July 20, 2018. A court in communist Vietnam on July 20 started a closed-door trial against Nguyen for (AFP/File)
T
he one-day trial of an American man of Vietnamese descent who was detained during nationwide protests in Vietnam last month opened in a Ho Chi Minh City court on Friday, a court official said.
William Anh Nguyen, 32, is accused of "causing public disorder" during the mass protests, sparked by concerns that plans to develop economic zones in Vietnam by offering land leases for up to 99 years would be dominated by investors from China.
Vietnam's constitution allows freedom of assembly, but protests are often broken up by police.
A public disorder charge carries a prison term of up to seven years, according to Vietnam's criminal code.
The trial comes two weeks after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised Nguyen's detention during meetings with Vietnamese officials in Hanoi and asked for a "speedy resolution" to his case.
State media reports said Nguyen was "gathering and causing trouble" during the protests and was filmed urging others to climb over barricades. Video footage of Nguyen shared on social media showed he had blood on his head during the June protest.
The Vietnamese government has denied any use of force against Nguyen and has allowed U.S. consular officials to visit him in detention.
On Wednesday, 19 U.S. lawmakers wrote to Pompeo asking him to secure Nguyen's release.
"As elected representatives of Mr. Nguyen's family, and the greater Vietnamese-American community, we remain very concerned about the seriousness of the pending charges and the sentence he faces," said the letter, reviewed by Reuters.
Despite sweeping economic reforms, communist-ruled Vietnam tolerates little dissent.
Police in the country arrested dozens of people during June's protests, which spanned several cities and turned violent in the central province of Binh Thuan.
A court in the province has jailed six people for clashing with police during the protests.
Nguyen's sister, Victoria Nguyen, has raised concerns about whether her brother will get a fair trial.
"I feel like their laws are purposefully vague in order to incriminate people for just about anything," she told Reuters in an email.
