Skip to main content

Vietnam jails prominent blogger for 'anti-state activities'

Dissident blogger Pham Viet Dao, standing at centre, appears at a court in Hanoi, Vietnam Wednesday, 19 March 2014

A court in Vietnam has jailed a prominent blogger for 15 months for anti-state activities, the second sentencing of a blogger in recent days.
Pham Viet Dao, 62, was found guilty of "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe the interests of the state".
Mr Dao apologised in court for some "erroneous" information, but said his posts did not impact badly on society.
His blog ran posts critical of the government and sensitive issues like the territorial row with China.
Mr Dao was arrested last year. He previously worked for the culture ministry and is a member of the Vietnam Writers Association.
His sentencing came after another popular blogger, Truong Duy Nhat, was also jailed for two years on the same charges a few days ago.
"The defendant's acts are dangerous to the society, causing anxiety among the public and reducing people's trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and the state," Judge Ngo Tu Hoc was quoted by AP news agency as saying.
Critics say that abusing democratic rights, as stipulated in Article 258 of Vietnam's Criminal Code, is a very vague charge, says the BBC's Nga Pham.
But the Vietnamese government has been using this to detain and jail dozens of writers and bloggers in the last two years, our correspondent adds.
Rights group Human Rights Watch, based in New York, on Tuesday urged Vietnam to drop the case against Mr Dao.
"The Vietnamese authorities are shaming themselves before domestic and international public opinion by staging yet another political trial of a peaceful critic," Brad Adams, Asia director, said in a statement.
He added that Mr Dao's only crime has been "to use the internet to voice opinions shared by many Vietnamese".
All newspapers and television channels in Vietnam are state-run and operate under strict regulations.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Ha Noi- Da Nang intersesting the world

Prestigious online tourism magazine, Smart Travel Asia, has cited Hanoi and Danang of Vietnam as top holiday destinations in Asia. This is the second time these two Vietnamese cities were included in Smart Travel Asia’s rankings. Beautiful scene in Hanoi In the 2014 online poll launched by the SmartTravelAsia.com, Hanoi and Danang were placed 8th together with Singapore. Bali of Indonesia secured the fist position in the list. Danang is famous for its beautiful beaches The vote, which ran in three months, from May to July, is based on substantial hands-on travel experience.

The 4th Hue Golden Tourism Week

The 4th Hue Golden Tourism Week at heritage sites will take place from December 24-30 with a series of promotions, tour discounts and bonus services for tourists and travel agents.  The event will welcome the year's two millionth visitor to the site and the 30 millionth guest to Hue since it was recognized by UNESCO as a world  heritage in 2003. In addition, top 3 travel agents will be awarded and a conference on tourism services will be held. Tourists will also enjoy ticket exemption or discount when visiting heritage sites. In January-November, Hue welcomed over 1.8 million visitors, including 846,000 foreigners, and earned over VND 129 billion in revenue, fullfilling the  target one month ahead of the yearly plan. Earlier, in September, 2013, Hue commemorated the 20th anniversary of its imperial relic complex recognised as a UNESCO world cultural heritage site, and 10 years of the Hue Royal Court music’s inclusi...

XE NÂNG ĐIỆN ĐỨNG LÁI- CLARK-HÀN QUỐC. MODEL: CRX

Bên mình chuyên cung cấp các dòng xe nâng điện đứng lái CLARK- HÀN QUÔC. Bác nào có nhu cầu liên hệ mình: 0986 894 605 ( Mr. Lâm)  hoặc Email : thelamckoto@gmail.com. Model CRX10FL  Power type AC24V Capactity (kg) 1000 Load Center(mm) 500 Max Fork Height (mm) 5500 Right Angle Aisle(mm) 2430 Mast Height (OHL) 3900 Free Lift(mm) 405 Turning Radius(mm) 1298 Manufacture of Year 2015 Origin Korea