BBC News Online: World: Asia-Pacific

Vietnam: 37 jailed on terrorism charges

They were accused of being part of an anti-communist group - run by overseas Vietnamese - who oppose the Vietnamese Government.

The group's leader Nguyen Huu Chanh lives in the United States and many of those on trial were based in Thailand and Cambodia.

They were arrested as they tried to smuggle anti-government leaflets and explosives into Vietnam.

Prosecutors said that among the gang's planned missions was a grenade attack on a religious festival in the south of the country.

The gang's ringleader in Vietnam, Le Kim Hung, was jailed for 20 years.

The others were given lesser prison sentences.

Several anti-communist groups were set up by overseas Vietnamese who had fought against communist forces in the Vietnam War.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service