Vietnamese jailed for 10 years over Facebook posts

• Reuters, HANOI

A court in Vietnam yesterday sentenced a man to 10 years in prison after finding him guilty of spreading “anti-state propaganda” on social media, police said.

Vu Tien Chi, 55, was convicted of “making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the state” at a one-day trial in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security said in a news release.

Chi was accused of sharing 338 articles and 181 videos on Facebook to “distort and defame the people’s administration, infringe the interests of the Communist Party of Vietnam and state,” the ministry said.

At the time of his arrest in June last year, police said Chi has shared the “anti-state” content across several accounts.

Separately, three other people were on trial in Khanh Hoa province over similar charges, state media reported.

Nguyen Thi Cam Thuy, Ngo Thi Ha Phuong and Le Viet Hoa were accused of posting anti-state propaganda on their Facebook and YouTube accounts, the Khanh Hoa newspaper reported.

Thuy was also accused of livestreaming her burning the flags of Vietnam and the party, it said.