SHOCKER!! Popular Blogger Jailed on anti-state charges!

Popular Vietnamese blogger and journalist
Truong Duy Nhat was jailed for two years
on Tuesday for posting articles critical of
the Communist government and leaders,
his lawyer said.
Nhat was found guilty of "abusing
democratic freedoms to infringe on the
interests of the state" at a half-day trial
in his native city of Danang on the
central coast.
The broad anti-state charges can carry a
maximum of seven years in jail.
"He strongly denied the charge, claiming
that he is innocent," said lawyer Tran Vu
Hai.
Nhat, 50, was a journalist working for
several state-run papers before he quit
and set up the popular blog "A Different
Viewpoint".
Private media are banned in Vietnam
with all newspapers and television
channels state-run, but many citizens
now prefer to access news through blogs
and social media.
Nhat's posts frequently dealt with highly
sensitive political issues and offered
alternative commentary to the staid
official press.
In a post in April 2013 Nhat called for
Vietnam's top leaders to resign. He said
it was "time for a new party general
secretary and prime minister" to save
the nation from economic and political
woes.
He was taken into police custody in May
that year and his blog was shut down.
According to a copy of the indictment
posted online, his articles "were not true
(and) defamed leaders of the party and
state, creating a one-sided pessimistic
viewpoint".
At the trial, "Nhat said he should have
been appreciated for being a good
citizen as it is normal to criticise party
and state leaders", lawyer Hai told AFP.
AFP's request to attend the trial was
turned down by authorities.
On Monday New York-based Human
Rights Watch called on the government
to let Nhat walk free, saying he could not
be jailed merely for disagreeing with the
government and the party.
"Truong Duy Nhat's trial is part of the
Vietnamese government's futile effort to
silence the increasingly effervescent
community of Vietnamese bloggers,"
said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human
Rights Watch.
In Vietnam, lawyers, bloggers and
activists are regularly subject to
arbitrary arrest and detention, according
to rights groups.
Reporters Without Borders said Vietnam
was second only to China in the number
of bloggers it detained, with at least 34
currently behind bars.
In February the country was criticised at
the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva
during its periodic review over its
treatment of regime critics.
"Vietnam still harasses and detains those
who exercise universal rights and
freedoms, such as freedom of expression
and association," US representative
Peter Mulrean told the assembly, calling
on the country to "release all political
prisoners".
Hanoi denies it holds political prisoners
and declines comment on the issue.

Vanguard