Đồng Tâm trial: Justice must be served!

The People’s Procuracy of Hanoi on September 9 presented accusations against 29 defendants in the extremely serious case that happened in Dong Tam commune of Hanoi’s My Duc district earlier this year.

The Procuracy said six defendants - Le Dinh Cong, Le Dinh Chuc, Le Dinh Doanh, Bui Viet Hieu, Nguyen Quoc Tien and Nguyen Van Tuyen - had demonstrated clear motive and intention of murdering.

According to the Procuracy, the six were the masterminds of the crime, and they also led and directly committed criminal acts. They had closely colluded with others who were key members of a so-called “group of consensus” led by Le Dinh Kinh. Kinh had been shot dead while holding a grenade and calling on others to resist, and therefore was not included in this case.

Among the six defendants accused of “murder”, Cong was the leader who often incited others to kill police officers by posting video clips and livestreaming on social networks. He also threatened to bomb power stations and kill 300-500 police officers; assigned tasks to other defendants; and actively performed these acts.

Cong also directed and contributed money to buy petrol and grenades, guided others how to make petrol bombs and tinder, and directly threw petrol bombs and a grenade toward on-duty officers. That grenade did not explode and cause damage for on-duty officers was only unintended.

Therefore, Cong was charged with “murder” under Clause 1, Article 123 of the 2015 Penal Code. However, at the trial, he did not plead guilty and attempted to conceal his offense.

For defendant Le Dinh Chuc, a representative from the Procuracy said that on late January 8 and early January 9, when being informed of the appearance of on-duty officers in Hoanh hamlet, Chuc and other defendants brought weapons to the rooftop of a neighbouring house. They threw four petrol bombs and one grenade at the police, and used hand-made weapons to attack the police officers, causing three police officers to fall into a pit near Kinh’s house. Chuc and Doanh repeatedly poured petrol into the pit and set fire, killing the three policemen.

The Procuracy found that Chuc’s act was the most drastic and the direct cause of the death of the three on-duty policemen with an obvious murder motive and showing great aggressiveness and a lack of humanity.

During investigations and at the court, Chuc admitted his guilt, but did not really show sincerity as he still tried to blame Doanh to avoid part of his responsibility.

Meanwhile, Le Dinh Doanh actively responded to Kinh’s appeal to resist the administration with the aim of illegally occupying land at Dong Tam commune’s Senh field. Doanh joined many discussions on how to oppose the administration and kill police officers. He had received 500,000 VND (21.5 USD) from Kinh to buy knives and hire people to weld the knives to iron tubes, which were used by Doanh and other defendants in the attack on the police on late January 8 and early January 9. Doanh also set fire to kill the three policemen.

Prosecutors said that his acts were extremely serious and it is necessary to apply a severe penalty against him. However, as Doanh sincerely pleaded guilty and showed repentance and he is Cong’s son, prosecutors proposed giving him a chance to rehabilitee under the State’s humanitarian and lenient policy.

Bui Viet Hieu and Nguyen Van Tuyen, driven by greed for land, incited others to commit crime. As the death of the policemen was associated with their behaviours, they must be punished strictly, the Procuracy said, adding that there were also mitigating circumstances as Hieu committed the crime when he was over 70 years old and Tuyen is a person with disabilities.

Nguyen Quoc Tien was affirmed to participate in the case right from the beginning and actively contribute money to buy petrol and grenades. He himself made petrol bombs and purchased 10 grenades with the aim to kill policemen with his accomplices. Although the grenades he had bought did not explode, this was beyond his expectation as he clearly knew the grenade were real and could cause death and severe injuries.

Therefore, the Procuracy also affirmed that Tien must be published strictly and receive a penalty commensurate with his criminal acts. During the investigation process and at the court, Tien pleaded guilty and asked for clemency.

According to the procuracy’s indictment, despite being well aware that the land at the Senh field of Dong Tam commune was used for defence purpose under the management of the Defence Ministry as confirmed by the Hanoi Inspectorate and the Government Inspectorate, in 2013, Kinh (born in 1936, a resident in Hoanh hamlet) and some others set up the “group of consensus” with the aim of re-occupying and dividing the land lot among themselves.

They frequently incited locals to file complaints about the Dong Tam administration’s land management and use, used social networks to spread the false information that the Senh field belongs to Dong Tam commune and called on local people to “struggle to keep the land”.

In late 2019 and early 2020, upon learning that the Hanoi Department of Public Security coordinated with the air defence – air force service of the Defence Ministry to deploy personnel to protect the force building fencing walls around the Mieu Mon airfield on the Senh field, Kinh and his accomplices bought weapons with the aim of attacking the authorised force.

In the early hours on January 9, 2020, when the police arrived at the gate of Hoanh hamlet, about 50m from Kinh’s house,  the group used hand-made weapons to attack the police force, causing three police officers to fall into a pit near Kinh’s house. Le Dinh Chuc and Le Dinh Doanh poured gasoline into the pit and set fire, killing the three policemen.

 At the same time, the authorised force found Kinh holding a grenade and calling on others to resist, so they decided to shoot him dead.

The trial for the 29 defendants in the case began on September 7 and is scheduled to last 10 days./.