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Popular blogger jailed (Bloggers beware)

Published

10 years ago

March 4, 2014

Popular Vietnamese blogger and journalist Truong Duy
Nhat was jailed for two years on Tuesday for posting articles critical
of the Communist government and leaders, his lawyer said.
Nhat was found guilty of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on
the interests of the state” at a half-day trial in his native city of
Danang on the central coast.
The broad anti-state charges can carry a maximum of seven years in
jail.
“He strongly denied the charge, claiming that he is innocent,” said
lawyer Tran Vu Hai.
Nhat, 50, was a journalist working for several state-run papers
before he quit and set up the popular blog “A Different Viewpoint”.
Private media are banned in Vietnam with all newspapers and
television channels state-run, but many citizens now prefer to access
news through blogs and social media.
Nhat’s posts frequently dealt with highly sensitive political issues and
offered alternative commentary to the staid official press.
In a post in April 2013 Nhat called for Vietnam’s top leaders to
resign. He said it was “time for a new party general secretary and
prime minister” to save the nation from economic and political woes.
He was taken into police custody in May that year and his blog was
shut down.
According to a copy of the indictment posted online, his articles “were
not true (and) defamed leaders of the party and state, creating a one-
sided pessimistic viewpoint”.
At the trial, “Nhat said he should have been appreciated for being a
good citizen as it is normal to criticise party and state leaders”, lawyer
Hai told AFP.
AFP’s request to attend the trial was turned down by authorities.
On Monday New York-based Human Rights Watch called on the
government to let Nhat walk free, saying he could not be jailed merely
for disagreeing with the government and the party.
“Truong Duy Nhat’s trial is part of the Vietnamese government’s
futile effort to silence the increasingly effervescent community of
Vietnamese bloggers,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human
Rights Watch.
In Vietnam, lawyers, bloggers and activists are regularly subject to
arbitrary arrest and detention, according to rights groups.
Reporters Without Borders said Vietnam was second only to China
in the number of bloggers it detained, with at least 34 currently behind
bars.
In February the country was criticised at the UN Human Rights
Council in Geneva during its periodic review over its treatment of
regime critics.
“Vietnam still harasses and detains those who exercise universal rights
and freedoms, such as freedom of expression and association,” US
representative Peter Mulrean told the assembly, calling on the country
to “release all political prisoners”.
Hanoi denies it holds political prisoners and declines comment on the
issue.
My fellow blogger una Don hear am?