A Vietnamese court has sentenced a top independent Journalist to 30 months in prison over Facebook posts that criticised the government.
Thescale news gathered that Truong Huy San, 63, whose pen name is Huy Duc was convicted for posting 13 articles on Facebook which caused “a negative impact on social order and safety”.
Although, we learnt that he pleaded guilty to the charges he was charged with, we could not immediately confirm this as at press time.
San, who was arrested in June last year, is a former soldier and the author of “The Winning Side,” a book about postwar Vietnam which is banned in the country.
Before the trial however, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists and PEN America had all called on the government to release San.
“When an author and journalist like Truong Huy San is silenced, it’s not just his voice that is stifled. It’s the right of an entire society to seek truth and accountability,” PEN America research and advocacy manager Anh-Thu Vo said in a statement two weeks ago.
Despite sweeping economic reforms and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and tolerates little criticism.
