Livestreaming, posting anti-state articles on Facebook, sentenced to 6 years in prison
Nguyen Ngoc Anh used Facebook accounts to participate in live broadcasts and posted many articles with distorted and anti-state content.
On June 6, the People's Court of Ben Tre province opened the first instance trial of defendant Nguyen Ngoc Anh (39 years old, hometown Hanoi - temporarily residing in Binh Dai town, Binh Dai district, Ben Tre province) for the act of "making, storing, disseminating, and propagating information and documents aimed at opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam".
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| Defendant Nguyen Ngoc Anh at the trial. Photo: Quang Duy |
According to the indictment, from March to August 2018, Anh used his three personal Facebook accounts to write articles, share many articles, video clips, and livestreams with many reactionary subjects at home and abroad to discuss propaganda content that distorts and defames the people's government; spread many fabricated news to cause confusion among the people, call for protests and "civil disobedience" to oppose the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
On August 30, 2018, Anh was urgently detained by the Ben Tre Provincial Police Department. On September 5, 2018, Anh was temporarily detained.
At the trial, the defendant Anh showed remorse. Anh also said that because he was initially led by some people when he posted the live broadcast on Facebook, he committed a serious crime.
In his final statement, the defendant said he realized his mistakes and hoped the jury would consider reducing his sentence.
Considering that the defendant's actions are very serious, contrary to the State's guidelines, policies and laws, contrary to the national interests and the interests of the people, it is necessary to isolate the defendant from social life for a period of time.
After considering mitigating circumstances such as honest confession and repentance, the jury decided to sentence defendant Nguyen Ngoc Anh to 6 years in prison for the above act.
