Vietnam has jailed four people it accused of  associating with a banned opposition party and opposing the communist regime,  official media said Thursday.

The three men and one woman were given sentences of between three and five  years by a court in the central province of Lam Dong on Tuesday.

They were accused of having links with the Party for the People, which is  banned in the one-party state, the Tin Tuc and Cong An Nhan Dan newspapers  reported.

The four were identified as Duong Au, Phung Quang Quyen, Truong Van Kim and  Truong Thi Tam.

The authorities accused the group of meeting Party for the People leaders  in Cambodia and of actively opposing Vietnamese state policies, including those  concerning controversial bauxite mines.

The mining ventures in Vietnam's central highlands, which include Lam Dong,  are a highly sensitive issue in the communist nation.

Vietnamese scientists, intellectuals and some in the army have denounced  the government in recent months for having authorised Chinese involvement in  the project, which they say threatens national sovereignty and the  environment.

Human rights groups and foreign diplomats have expressed concern over the  rights situation in Vietnam, where at least 20 activists have been jailed since  October.

(Source: AFA)