Court appeal of dissident Vietnam bloggers is rejected

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20856696

The court ruled that the sentences and convictions of writer Nguyen Van Hai and former policewoman Ta Phong Tan should not be overturned.

Nguyen Van Hai and Ta Phong Tan received 12 and 10 years in jail respectively after a brief trial.

In a separate development, another top blogger has been arrested.

Le Quoc Quan, one of Vietnam's best-known dissidents, was arrested on Thursday on charges of tax evasion, state media reports say.

Mr Quan was detained as he took his children to school in Hanoi.

He has been jailed before, and had recently complained of being under surveillance and harassment.

Vietnam's communist rulers have opened up the economy, but suppress political opposition and ban private media. All newspapers and television channels are state-run.