E/CN.4/1990/46 page 54 the "Like Pham Van Thuong, he was involved in subversive activities in anti-State organizations mentioned above. "Both the accused were condemned to death on 30 September 1988 by the court of first instance in Ho Chi Minn Ville for their crimes in seeking to overthrow the People's Government, under article 73 of the Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Later, a judgement of the Appeal Court in Ho Chi Minh Ville dated 15 November 1988 commuted the death sentence to 20 years' imprisonment without the possibility of remission. "2. Tran Van Luong (...) "Born in 1940 in Ha Nam Ninh Province and evacuated to Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh Ville), he was a sergeant in the army of the Saigon puppet regime. "Being one of the leaders of the anti-State organizations known as 'Division Truong Son' and 'Popular Front for the Restoration of the Fatherland' and being 'President' and 'Prime Minister1 of the 'Voluntary Forces for the Restoration of the Fatherland inside the Country1 and 'National Resistance League for the Restoration of the Fatherland in Viet Nam', he was involved in subversive activities aimed at overthrowing the Peoples Government. Arrested on 9 December 1985 and tried by the court of first instance on 23 September 1988, he too was sentenced to death under article 73 of the Penal Code. His case will be reviewed by the Appeal Court in Ho Chi Minh Ville in due course. "In conclusion, I wish to draw your attention to the fact that the three accused persons mentioned above were tried in accordance with the provisions of the Penal Code of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam." 92. In a communication to the Government dated 10 November 1989, the following information was transmitted by the Special Rapporteur: "According to information received, in 1989 the Government decided to enforce the procedures relating to applications for registration by religious organizations more strictly. In July, the Minister of Justice closed 200 churches in Kinshasa because they had not been registered with the Government. A large number of churches had applied for registration, but their applications had been deliberately held up for bureaucratic reasons. According to other information, legal status was denied to the Jehovah's Witnesses." 93. To date, no reply has been received from the following Governments: Afghanistan, Burundi, China, Ethiopia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Israel, Mauritania, Mexico, Nepal, Somalia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Zaire.