HANOI, Vietnam – Three U.S. citizens are among seven people who will go on trial in Vietnam this week over an alleged attempt to take over state radio stations to call for an uprising against the communist government, a court official said Tuesday.
The seven will stand trial Friday at the People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City on charges of terrorism, an offense that carries possible sentences ranging from 12 years in prison to death by firing squad, the court's chief judge Bui Hoang Danh said.
The defendants, who were arrested in September of last year, include three U.S. citizens of ethnic Vietnamese descent: Thuong Nguyen "Cuc" Foshee of Orlando, Fla.; Le Van Binh "Phu" of Tampa, Fla, and Huynh Bich Lien "Linda" of San Gabriel, Calif.
Three Vietnamese nationals from southern An Giang province and a Vietnamese national who is a resident of the U.S. will also be tried, Danh said.
He said the trial would last one day.
The trial comes just before Hanoi is set to host the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit later this month. President Bush is scheduled to attend the Nov. 18-19 meeting.
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