In Vietnam, 60-year-old dissident Tran Anh Kim has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison and three years house arrest by a court in the northern town of Thai Binh.

The former army officer turned pro-democracy activist was found guilty of “subversive activities”. He is a member of the banned Democratic Party in Vietnam and of the “8406 group” which has called for the introduction of a multi-party system.

In July he was arrested on for the lesser charge of distributing propaganda, but was prosecuted for undermining the state which potentially carries the death sentence.

Four other dissidents, U.S.-trained lawyer Le Cong Dinh, Nguyen Tien Trung, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc and Le Thang Long face trial at the end of next month. Analysts say the trials are to discourage dissent ahead of the Communist Party Congress in 2011.