U.S.-Vietnamese activist convicted, to be deported

HANOI (Reuters) - An American-Vietnamese political activist was sentenced to six months jail in a one-day trial, but he will be deported at the weekend as he had already served the time, U.S. embassy officials and his party said on Tuesday.

Nguyen Quoc Quan, 54, an engineer from Sacramento, California, was arrested last November along with several other activists of the Viet Tan (Vietnam Reform Party) who were preparing to distribute leaflets opposed to one-party rule.

In Tuesday's trial in Ho Chi Minh City People's Court, Quan and a Thai citizen and one Vietnamese national were charged with "terrorism". The Hanoi government describes Viet Tan as a terrorist group, but the party says it does not support the use of violence and that pamphlets seized by police at the time of last November's arrests promoted peaceful democratic change.

"We welcome his release and return to the United States," a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman in Hanoi said in a statement. "We remain disappointed by the decision of the Government of Vietnam to charge Dr. Quan with 'terrorism.'

"We are not aware of any information that would support charges of 'terrorism'. We object to the detention and prosecution of any individual for peacefully expressing his or her own views."

Thai citizen Somsak Khunmi was sentenced to nine months and would be released in three months' time, said the U.S.-based Viet Tan, which is outlawed in Vietnam. It said Nguyen The Vu was sentenced to time served and was to be released on Tuesday.

The ruling Communist Party rejects calls for a multi-party system and last year it arrested more than 30 political activists, diplomats and human rights groups said.

Some were put on trial for "spreading propaganda against the state," a criminal offence in Vietnam, and handed prison sentences of between three years and eight years.

(Reporting by Grant McCool; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)