Vietnam Detains Blogger Over Anti-State Criticism

HANOI — Vietnamese police have detained a former journalist who ran a blog containing anti-state views, authorities said on Monday, part of a widening crackdown on dissent in the Communist-run country. Truong Duy Nhat, 49, was taken into custody on Sunday and police searched his house in the central city of Danang. He complied with an urgent warrant issued against him, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement on Monday. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in jail. Online dissent has grown in the past year as Vietnam wrestles with deep economic woes that have shattered its image as one of Asia's hottest emerging markets. Some bloggers have harshly criticized Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, accusing him of cronyism and economic mismanagement - which he denies. The...

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Blogger Truong Duy Nhat arrested

Blogger Truong Duy Nhat is pictured at 3:10 pm at Da Nang Airport on May 26, 2013 Police from the Ministry of Public Security have arrested the owner and chief writer of the blog “Một góc nhìn khác” (“Another viewpoint”), for his illegal actions.  The site’s owner, Truong Duy Nhat, 49, was arrested yesterday, May 26, on charges of “abusing rights to freedom and democracy to infringe upon State interests and the legitimate interests of organizations and/or citizens,” under Article 258 of the Penal Code, police said. The arrest was made at about 9 am at his home in Hoa Cuong Bac Ward, Hai Chau District, in the central city of Da Nang. Police also searched his home for hours. At 3:30 pm, police escorted Nhat to the Da Nang...

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Posted in: Society