Vietnam Sentences Journalist Huy Duc to 30 Months in Jail Over Critical Facebook Posts
Vietnam has sentenced prominent independent journalist and author Huy Duc to 30 months in prison after he was convicted of “abusing democratic freedoms” with Facebook posts that criticized the government.
The 63-year-old journalist, whose real name is Truong Huy San, was found guilty of posting 13 articles on Facebook, which the authorities say caused disruptions to social order and safety due to their large number of interactions, comments, and shares.
Huy Duc, a former senior army lieutenant, had a distinguished career in state-run media before becoming one of Vietnam’s most influential bloggers.
His outspoken criticisms of the country’s communist leaders, particularly on issues such as corruption, media control, and the relationship with China, gained him a wide following online. His blog and Facebook account became a source of information often censored by the government, earning him recognition both within Vietnam and abroad.
The trial, which lasted only a few hours, has sparked concern about the state of free speech in Vietnam, where dissent is harshly repressed. Before his arrest in June, Huy Duc had criticized both the current leader, To Lam, and his predecessor, Nguyen Phu Trong. While it remains unclear if these recent posts contributed directly to the charges, it is clear that his online activity had become a thorn in the side of the ruling regime.
Huy Duc’s conviction follows a string of similar crackdowns on journalists and bloggers in Vietnam, a country known for being one of the top jailers of journalists globally. Just months before his sentence, blogger Duong Van Thai was jailed for 12 years for publishing antistate information, and in January, a former lawyer was sentenced to three years for similar offenses.
Vietnam, a one-party state, enforces strict censorship and has seen a marked increase in government repression of civil society in recent years.
In December, new online regulations were introduced, requiring Facebook and TikTok to verify user identities and provide user data to authorities under the controversial “Decree 147.”
Despite the growing clampdown, international rights groups, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF), have praised Huy Duc’s work as an invaluable source of uncensored information that provided the Vietnamese public with insight into the country’s often-hidden political landscape. The question now remains: how much longer can Vietnam’s leaders continue to suppress free expression without facing increasing international pressure?
