On January 28, 2029, Germany’s Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof- BGH) released its final verdict (No. 3 StR 562/18) which states that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam had sent secret agents to break into German territory and kidnap Mr. Trinh Xuan Thanh. By this move, Vietnam seriosly violated the international law and conventions Hanoi has signed.
Today (January 28), Ms. Schlagenhauf, Trinh Xuan Thanh’s lawyer in Germany, issued a press release, in which she is asking the German Government to continue to intervene with the Vietnamese side to release her client named Trinh Xuan Thanh.
The press release started with a decision of the Bundesgerichtshof rejecting the appeal of Nguyen Hai Long. She received the decision today also.
With this decision (released on August 7, 1919), Bundesgerichtshof determined that during the arrest of Trinh Xuan Thanh, defendant Nguyen Hai Long was charged with conducting intelligence activities as an intelligence agent as well as depriving freedom of Mr. Trinh Xuan Thanh and his girlfriend Do Thi Minh Phuong, and a 46-month sentence for defendant Nguyen Hai Long was confirmed.
Thus Nguyen Hai Long was sentenced to 3 years and 10 months in prison by Germany’s highest court and he has no right to appeal.
In her press release, lawyer Schlagenhauf emphasized that the Bundesgerichtshof also issued an explanation that “during the trial, the imprisonment made by a kidnapping state cannot be considered as justice in every case. Therefore, detention after abduction which violated international law is proved illegal based on this criminal case … ”(quoted from the Bundesgerichtshof’s Decision).
Finally, in her press release, lawyer Schlagenhauf concluded: Thus, the highest Criminal Court in Germany once again determined that the abduction of my client was an act of the Vietnamese State in violation of the international Public Law, and also, the detention of my client in Vietnam lasted until now is illegal from a German point of view.
The press release ended with the request to ask the German Government “not to reduce efforts to release my client from the Vietnamese prison.”
Hieu Ba Linh – Thoibao.de
