(17865) Dd.145178 400m 5/73 G.W.B.Ltd. Gp.863
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A
found that one member, who had given a false name in Hong Kong, had previously been condemned to death on smuggling charges. He has since been re-tried and
sentenced to life imprisonment. About 29 of the remaining 117 (comprising women, children and old people) have now been released and the remainder are
being held in prisons in or near Saigon while they await trial for illegal émigration. Apart from those who are charged with illegal emigration some 21 men have been identified as deserters and will subsequently
face an additional trial by military tribunal. It is difficult to forecast what sentences might be imposed
by this tribunal since desertion is a relatively
frequent occurrence in South Vietnam and the penalties
depend very much on the precise circumstances of each
case.
The latest development is that some members of
the group have lodged an appeal against the examining magistrate's decision to commit them for trial. Until
this appeal has been heard no date can be set for the
trial itself.
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