Duyet, a regular contributor to the news website Vietnam Redemptorist News and president of the Association of Catholic Workers, was first detained in Vinh city, Nghe An province. Vietnam Redemptorist News, an online publication run by the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, reports on the plight of the country’s persecuted Catholic minority, land disputes between the government and grassroots communities, and other social issues.
Duyet was detained on unspecified charges under Article 79 of the penal code, which outlines penalties for activities aimed at overthrowing the government. Duyet was also accused of membership in the outlawed, exile-run Viet Tan political party.
In a two-day trial concluded on January 9, 2013, Vinh city court convicted Duyet and sentenced him to six years in prison and four years’ house arrest on charges of participating in “activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration,” “undermining of national unity,” and disseminating “propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” news reports said.
On May 23, 2013, an appellate court reduced his sentence by six months to five and a half years total. He was being held in late 2014 at Vinh city’s Nghi Kim Detention Center.