In February 2010, three labour rights activists, Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, 30, Do Thi Minh Hanh, 26, and Doan Huy Chuong, 26, were arrested for distributing leaflets and helping to organize a strike of 10,000 workers at the My Phong shoe factory in Tra Vinh. They were not presented with an arrest warrant. They were subsequently charged with disrupting security under article 89 of the Penal Code of Viet Nam. They are said to have received money from Tran Ngoc Thanh, chairman of the Warsaw-based Committee to Protect Vietnamese Workers, to print and distribute anti-Government leaflets and foment labour strikes. In particular, Mr. Nguyen, Ms. Do and Mr. Doan are accused of distributing leaflets and helping organise a strike of 10,000 workers at the My Phong shoe factory. The Vietnamese authorities further accused the petitioners of being reactionary and trying to overthrow the Government. They are said to be members of a United States-based political party which advocates democracy. The source reports that the authorities have claimed that the "offender[s'] crimes are very serious, operated and organized with the intention to destroy the country's security, and need punishing". They were kept in pretrial detention for eight months. During the period in pretrial detention, they were not allowed any visitations or legal assistance. On 26 October 2010, in a one-day trial, Mr. Nguyen, Ms. Do and Mr. Doan were convicted of "disrupting security and order against the people's administration" under article 89 of the Penal Code of Viet Nam. Mr. Nguyen was sentenced to nine years' imprisonment. Ms. Do and Mr. Doan were each sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. None of the petitioners had defence lawyers present at the trial, nor were they allowed to speak in their defence. Their sentence was posted on the Internet, by the State-run Cong An Nhan Dan, one day prior to the actual sentencing. In the source's view, this highlights the political nature of the trial that lacked independence and impartiality. Under Vietnamese law, workers are prohibited from forming independent unions of their own choosing. Instead, all unions must be registered and affiliated with the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, an official labor confederation controlled by the Communist Party. Chuong is one of the founders of the United Workers-Farmers Organization (UWFO, also Hiep Hoi Doan Ket Cong Nong). He was imprisoned in 2006 for 18 months on charges of "abusing democratic freedoms." Hung and Hanh were both active supporters of the petitioners' movement called Victims of Injustice, which helps impoverished workers and landless farmers seek redress from the government. Hung is also a member of the pro-democracy Bloc 8406. Their families succeeded in hiring defence lawyers. However, as of 17 January 2011, the lawyers had not been granted access to the defendants, despite the fact that the appeal court was to hear the cases on 24 January 2011. On 18 January 2011, the families of the defendants submitted a joint complaint to various authorities, including the Minister of Public Affairs and the People's Procuracy of Tra Vinh province, asking the court to respect the defendants' right to legal representation and to postpone the appeal hearing. The court changed the appeal hearing date to 18 March 2011. On 18 March 2011, the Appeal Court in Tra Vinh province upheld the sentences given in February 2010 to Mr. Nguyen, Ms. Do and Mr. Doan On 2 August 2012, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) sent a communication to the Vietnamese government. The Government replied to the communication on 28 September 2012 On 14 November 2012, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention adopted an opinion on the case, recommending to release all three activists and accord them an enforceable right to compensation.