A prominent independent journalist and writer in Vietnam, Huy Duc, has been sentenced to 2.5 years in jail because of his critical Facebook posts about the government. After a short trial in Hanoi, 63-year-old Duc was found guilty of misusing democratic freedoms to harm state interests by writing 13 critical articles on Facebook. His posts, which garnered many interactions, were deemed detrimental to social order and safety by the prosecution.

Huy Duc, whose real name is Truong Huy San, has a background in state-run journalism and was a former army lieutenant. He switched to authorship, creating one of Vietnam’s most popular blogs and Facebook accounts, where he addressed issues like corruption and media control. Before becoming an independent journalist, he was dismissed from a state-run position in 2009 for criticizing the Soviet Union’s past actions. In 2012, he spent time at Harvard University on a Nieman Fellowship, publishing his memoir about Vietnam post-war, “The Winning Side.”

Recently, Vietnam has seen an uptick in the punishment of dissenting voices online, with blogger Duong Van Thai jailed for 12 years and a former lawyer imprisoned for three years over Facebook posts. Before his arrest in June, Duc publicly critiqued Vietnam’s leaders, including President To Lam and former leader Nguyen Phu Trong. Vietnam, a single-party state, is known for its restrictive media policies and harsh treatment of journalists who voice opposition to the government, according to Reporters Without Borders.

RSF hailed Huy Duc’s articles as a vital source for Vietnamese people seeking information censored by state authorities. Despite recent legislation, such as “Decree 147,” which mandates that social media platforms verify user identities and disclose data to authorities, critics argue this move further suppresses online freedom and privacy in Vietnam.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/27/vietnam-court-jails-journalist-huy-duc-for-30-months-over-facebook-posts?traffic_source=rss