Nguyen Tri Gioan at the court (Photo: VNA) Khanh Hoa (VNA) - The People's Court in the central province ofKhanh Hoa on November 15 sentenced Nguyen Tri Gioan, born in 1979, to sevenyears in prison on the charge of “making, storing, distributing anddisseminating information, documents and items aimed at sabotaging the State ofthe Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Clause 1 of Article 117 in the 2015Penal Code.
Gioan will also get three-year probation at his place of residence afterfinishing the jail term.
According to the indictment of the People's Procuracy ofKhanh Hoa province, Gioan often watched articles and images with contents thatdistort, defame, and insult the Party and State's policies and guidelines onthe Internet. In February 2018, Gioan set up a personal Facebook account,making friends with many Facebook accounts of political reactionists. From thispersonal account, Gioan publicly posted and shared six articles and many picturesself-composed or collected and shared from friends on Facebook and websites to expressanti-State views.
In addition, in June 2018, Gioan participated in a largegathering in Binh Tan district, Ho Chi Minh City, to protestagainst the draft Law on Special Economic Zones and was fined 750,000 VND (33USD) for the act of gathering in public places, causing public disorder, by thePolice of Tan Tao Ward in Binh Tan District.
In August 2018, Cam Ranh city Police summoned Gioan to workon contents posted on his personal facebook account. Gioan admitted hiswrongdoing and pledged to remove the posts himself.
Although Gioan then did not post any new articles, hestill maintained his personal account, kept the mode open and did not removethe posts as committed.
In late 2019, he set up an additional Facebook account,posting, spreading and sharing seven articles and photos with reactionarycontents.
The jury said that Gioan's behaviour was dangerous tosociety, sowing suspicion and splitting the national great unity bloc, andinciting thoughts and actions against the State of the Socialist Republic ofVietnam./.
VNA
