HANOI, VIETNAM — A Vietnamese court sentenced independent journalist Truong Huy San (also known as Huy Duc) to 30 months in prison on Thursday for Facebook posts criticizing the government.
A Swift Trial for Criticism on Social Media
The Hanoi court convicted Huy Duc of “abusing democratic freedoms”, a charge often used to silence government critics. His trial lasted only a few hours, with the Vietnam News Agency reporting that his 13 Facebook articles had a “negative impact on social order.”
Huy Duc, a former journalist for state-run newspapers, later gained prominence as a blogger and independent writer, frequently criticizing Vietnam’s communist leaders on issues like corruption and press freedom.
International Condemnation
His sentencing has sparked global condemnation from press freedom advocates.
✔️ Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called the ruling proof of Vietnam’s contempt for free speech, urging the international community to pressure Hanoi for his release.
✔️ PEN America said the case proves that Vietnam fears the power of words and aims to silence independent voices.
A History of Repression
Huy Duc was previously fired from a state news outlet in 2009 for criticizing Vietnam’s former communist ally, the Soviet Union. He later pursued independent journalism, including a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 2012, where he published The Winning Side, a book about post-war Vietnam.
Vietnam ranks 174th out of 180 on the World Press Freedom Index and is one of the worst jailers of journalists globally. New laws requiring social media identity verification have further restricted online dissent.
One month before his arrest, Huy Duc warned on Facebook:
“No country can develop sustainably based on fear.”
His imprisonment reinforces Vietnam’s crackdown on free speech, with journalists facing increasing government censorship and persecution.
