Vietnamese teacher jailed after criticizing Hanoi
Honour guards raise Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) flag in Hanoi. File photo.
Image by: KHAM / REUTERS
Image by: KHAM / REUTERS
A court in central Vietnam has sentenced a high school chemistry teacher to six years in prison after he criticized the government.
Judge Nguyen Van Uy says Dinh Dang Dinh was sentenced in a half-day trial on Thursday on charges of conducting propaganda against the state.
The official Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday that police in central Dak Nong province arrested Dinh last October, confiscating his computer and documents calling for multi-party democracy.
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that Dinh is a former army officer who wrote online commentaries alleging police harassment and signed a petition opposing a planned Chinese-led bauxite mine in Vietnam's restive central highlands.
Vietnam is a one-party state that does not tolerate challenges to its authority. Dissidents frequently receive long prison terms for speaking out.
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