A reputable Vietnamese journalist, known for reporting on protests and human rights violations in the communist country, was sentenced to six years in prison on Wednesday (April 12th), his lawyer announced.
Nguyen Lan Thang, a 47-year-old activist and freelance journalist well known in Vietnam for his criticism of the government, was found guilty of spreading '
anti-state propaganda
' during his trial which was held behind closed doors in Hanoi.
His lawyer Nguyen Ha Luan told AFP that his client had also been given a two-year suspended prison sentence.
Thang was arrested at his home in Hanoi last July and has not been able to receive regular family visits since, according to his relatives.
Thang has written more than 130 blog posts, defended human rights and freedom of religion, and supported petitioners for land rights.
He is a patriot with responsibilities towards society.
Parents of Nguyen Lan Thang
He visited sites of forced land confiscation to film the excessive use of force by the authorities and also participated in numerous demonstrations in favor of the environment, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch.
In an open letter to the judges handling the case, Thang's parents wrote that the indictment "surprised
"
them .
"
We believe that exposing shortcomings and injustices and standing up for the vulnerable is not a crime against the government... He is a patriot with responsibilities to society,
" they added. .
The conviction comes more than a year after Pham Doan Trang, a prominent dissident journalist, was sentenced to nine years in prison by the Vietnamese state.
More recently, in March, activist Truong Van Dung was sentenced to six years in prison, also for spreading “
anti-state propaganda
”.
Vietnam is known for imposing strict restrictions on freedom of expression, especially for those whose words find a large audience online.
Independent media are banned.