Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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April 3, 2007

Thai Court Frees Vietnamese Anti-Communist Activist
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=16E97C7:A6F02AD83191E1604B3E9AA41FEABFFB9574F7DCC14957C0 Ly Tong hijacked
Thai plane in 2000 to drop anti-communist leaflets over Ho Chi Minh
City A Thai appeals court has freed a Vietnamese-American who hijacked
a Thai plane in 2000 to drop anti-communist leaflets over Ho Chi Minh
City.  The Vietnamese government wanted to prosecute Ly Tong for
threatening its national security.  Ron Corben reports from Bangkok.







Former bomber in South Vietnam's air force, Ly Tong, waves as he is
taken to a police van back to the prison after hearing a court verdict
at Rayong provincial court in Rayong, Thailand(2003 file photo)The
appeals court ruled that Ly Tong's act had been purely political, and
had not endangered Vietnam's national security.  The court said
Thailand did not extradite people to face political charges, and
overturned a lower court decision to send Tong to Vietnam.

Tong was a pilot in the air force of the former South Vietnam.  In
2000, while then-president Bill Clinton was on an official visit to
Vietnam, Tong hijacked a small plane in the Thai resort town of Hua
Hin.  He flew the aircraft to Vietnam and dropped thousands of
anti-government leaflets over Ho Chi Minh City.

Vietnam called Tong's actions dire violations of its national
sovereignty.  It wanted to try him for invading its airspace and
threatening its national security. 

But the Thai appeals court said he is free to go after spending five
and a half years in a Thai prison.  Tong greeted the court ruling with
a smile and indicated that he would return to the United States, while
his supporters in the courtroom applauded. 

The director of Amnesty International Thailand, Boonthan Verawongse,
called the decision a welcome display of judicial independence.  "We
have to welcome the court decision to release the suspect," Boonthan
said. "The judicial system must guarantee the people the fair trial."

Tong has already spent time in a Vietnamese prison.  He was arrested
in 1992 after hijacking an Air Vietnam airliner and forcing the pilot
to fly over Ho Chi Minh City, again dropping leaflets calling for a
popular uprising.

A Vietnamese court sentenced him that time to 20 years in prison, but
he was released in 1998 under a government amnesty - two years before
he hijacked the Thai plane.

Tong has also flown a plane over Cuba, where he dropped leaflets
calling for a revolution against the communist government of Fidel
Castro. 




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