04/07/2003 08:43:02 | ABC Radio Australia News
The Vietnamese government says it will try three dissidents for grave violations of the law, but has not confirmed allegations they will be charged with espionage.
Reuters news agency reports the government was responding to claims by human rights group Amnesty International that a secret directive said Pham Que Duong, Tran Khue and Tran Dung Tien will be charged as spies.
A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman says the trio will be tried in accordance with Vietnamese law.
Reuters says Khue, a literature professor, upset authorities when he published criticisms of a Vietnamese border agreement with China on the internet.
Khue and former colonel Duong, a democracy activist, were among 21 signatories who petitioned Vietnam's parliament for reforms.
Tien, a former soldier, was arrested after urging the release of Duong and Khue.
Espionage carries a sentence ranging from 12 years' jail to death in Vietnam.