Hanoi - A Hanoi court Friday upheld the convictions of eight Catholic parishioners for damaging property during protests last year over a land dispute between the church and the Hanoi government.

Hundreds of supporters of the parishioners who had gathered outside the courthouse shouted their opposition when the verdicts were announced. Protestors carried signs reading "justice, truth, and peace," and applauded defendant Nguyen Thi Nhi when she passed by.

The charges related to protests last year at Thai Ha Church in Hanoi. Parishioners at the church staged a vigil demanding that a state-owned company return land the government seized from the church in the early 1960s.

Protestors erected crosses and shrines and knocked down a brick wall on the disputed land. The government refused to return the land, but ultimately announced it would turn the plot into a public park.

In December, eight parishioners, ranging in age from 21 to 63 years, were given light sentences involving no jail time.

In rejecting their appeal, one of the court's judges, Nguyen Quoc Hoi, said the defendants' actions showed "contempt for the laws, caused dissatisfaction among the people, and affected national unity."

He said the government had shown tolerance in handing out light sentences.

"It is impossible to say the parishioners received tolerant sentences, when the sentences were unjust," said Nguyen Thanh Van, 47, a Catholic who had traveled 80 kilometres to attend the trial.

"If they (the protestors) had not prayed, the land would have been given to government officials," said fellow Catholic protestor Nguyen Van Mui. "Thanks to their rallies, the land has become beautiful flower beds now."

Vietnamese police blockaded the area surrounding the courthouse during the trial. Several foreign press agencies and diplomats were allowed to watch the trial through closed-circuit television.

One of the three defence lawyers, Le Tran Luat, did not attend the trial. Several Catholic websites Friday published an email Luat sent the defendants on Wednesday in which he said the government was preventing him from attending. (dpa)