By David Brunnstrom
HANOI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Vietnam on Tuesday confirmed the detention and trial of members of a Buddhist sect reported to have been arrested earlier this year.
Asked to comment on statements from the Santa Ana, California, -based central council of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, saying five church members were to be tried on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung replied:
``The opening of the court session was to charge those who violated Vietnamese law and was nothing to do with religion.''
The Hoa Hao said Truong Van Thuc, Nguyen Chau Lang, Tran Van Be Cao, Tran Nguyen Hon and Le Van Nhuom, had been falsely charged with ``defaming the government and abusing democracy.''
A later statement said Thuc and Lang were sentenced to three years jail and Cao and Nhuom to one year each by a court in Long Xuyen, capital of the southern province of An Giang, but made no mention of Hom.
It said 700 Hoa Hao followers had protested against the trial. They were surrounded by 100 police officers and Thuc's wife arrested for causing a disturbance after banging her head against the prison wall in protest against his sentence.
The ministry rejected as ``fabricated and distorted information'' an earlier Hoa Hao report that said Mai Thi Dung, wife of another detained follower, Nguyen Van Buu, had attempted suicide on Monday during a protest by hundreds outside the prison, saying:
``There was no protest by hundreds of Hoa Hao Buddhist believers, or any suicide as reported in the press release.''
Diplomats said they had been unable to confirm reports of a suicide or a demonstration in the town, which has been badly hit by floods in the past month.
The Hoa Hao release said the five put on trial were arrested in March after writing to the Central Government denouncing abuses of power by provincial authorities.
The statement issued on Monday said Mai Thi Dung slashed her stomach in her protest and had to be hospitalised.
The statement said that in late 1999 Truong Van Thuc had met U.S. Congressman Christopher Smith and was detained a short time later. It said he was freed ``following strong intervention from the U.S. government.''
The Hoa Hao, who claim four million adherents in Vietnam, are a neo-Buddhist sect combining Buddhism, animism, Confucianism and indigenous practices.
Followers have long complained of persecution by the Communists because of their previous armed opposition to Hanoi during the Vietnam War.
The trial comes just weeks after the U.S. State Department criticised Vietnam in a report for holding over a dozen religious prisoners.
Hanoi denies holding political or religious prisoners, arguing all those in its jail are common criminals. It has called the U.S. criticism interference in its affairs.
Vietnam's rights record is expected to come up during an historic visit by U.S. President Bill Clinton planned for mid-November. Clinton will be the first U.S. president to visit Vietnam since the war and the first ever to come to Hanoi.