Briefs, February 8, 2013
Philippine prosecutors said a new investigation has cleared 18 suspected Abu Sayyaf militants of involvement in the 2002 kidnappings of six people, including two men who were beheaded, in the country's south.
MANILA - Philippine prosecutors said a new investigation has cleared 18 suspected Abu Sayyaf militants of involvement in the 2002 kidnappings of six people, including two men who were beheaded, in the country's south. A report of the investigation by seven prosecutors, released yesterday, says the 18 men were wrongfully identified by police and military as Abu Sayyaf members. Two of the suspects have been detained for more than two years while most others were detained last year. AP
HANOI - Vietnamese authorities have released a well-known dissident lawyer from prison early, even as the Communist government cracks down harder on activists. The online newspaper VnExpress said Le Cong Dinh was freed on Wednesday for his "good abidance by prison rules". Dinh was arrested in 2009 and sentenced to five years in prison for conspiring to overthrow the government. AP