Vietnam jails blogger for critical posts

A Vietnamese court sentenced a
dissident blogger to 15 months in prison
for posting online criticism of the
government, the latest case in an
intensifying crackdown against dissent in
the one-party communist country.
At a two-hour trial at the Hanoi People's
Court, Judge Ngo Tu Hoc said on
Wednesday that Pham Viet Dao was
guilty of "abusing democratic freedoms
to infringe the interests of the state" by
posting dozens of articles that
"distorted, vilified and smeared the
senior leaders".
Dao, 61, confessed to the court and
apologised for the "erroneous" details
in some of his posts, but said he did not
do that on purpose.
"I don't think that my articles have had
bad impact on society," said Dao, who
refused a lawyer and defended himself
at the trial.
'Sincere confession'
"The defendant's acts are dangerous to
the society, causing anxiety among the
public and reducing people's trust in the
leadership of the (Communist) Party and
the state," the judge said.
Hoc said the court handed down a light
sentence because of Dao's "sincere
confession," clean criminal record and
contribution to the country.
Several Western diplomats and foreign
reporters followed the court
proceedings via a closed circuit
television screen in a separate room.
Dao, a former Cultural Ministry official
and member of the Vietnam Writers
Association, was arrested at his Hanoi
home last June. His membership to the
Communist Party was suspended after
his arrest.
Earlier this month, a court in the central
city of Danang sentenced a well-known
blogger, Truong Duy Nhat, to two years
in jail on the same charges.
New York-based Human Rights Watch
issued a statement on Tuesday calling
for Dao's "immediate and unconditional"
release.
"The Vietnamese authorities are
shaming themselves before domestic
and international public opinion by
staging yet another political trial of a
peaceful critic," said Brad Adams, Asia
director at Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch says that the
number of people sentenced in political
trials in Vietnam has increased every
year since 2010, and that at least 63
people were imprisoned for peaceful
political expression last year.