• A Vietnamese court has sentenced renowned journalist Huy Duc to 30 months in prison.
• Huy Duc was found guilty of "abusing democratic freedoms" through Facebook posts.
• This conviction underscores increasing government repression against independent media in Vietnam.

A Vietnamese court has sentenced Huy Duc, a prominent independent journalist, to 30 months in prison for posts on Facebook that criticized the government. The swift trial, which took place in Hanoi, lasted only a few hours. The court accused the 63-year-old of "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state" by posting twelve articles that allegedly caused a negative impact on social order and safety, according to state media reports from the Channel News Asia.

Huy Duc, whose real name is Truong Huy San, was well-known for his critical stance against the Vietnamese Communist Party, addressing issues like corruption, media control, and Vietnam's relations with China. The journalist previously worked for influential government-run newspapers before creating one of Vietnam's most-read blogs and Facebook accounts. Just weeks prior to his arrest in June, he publicly criticized Vietnam's powerful leaders, including To Lam and Nguyen Phu Trong. It remains unclear if these posts influenced the charges against him.

Rights groups, including Al Jazeera, have highlighted Vietnam's status as one of the world's leading jailers of journalists. The case echoes a broader pattern of repression, as evidenced by the recent jailing of other dissidents, including blogger Duong Van Thai, sentenced to twelve years for similar reasons. According to The Jakarta Post, Vietnam's government is intensifying its crackdown on civil society, stifling dissent and censoring free expression.

Notably, in December 2023, the Vietnamese government established new regulations requiring social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok to verify user identities and share personal information with authorities under "Decree 147". This move has further raised concerns about the erosion of online privacy and the growing control of digital discourse in Vietnam. Huy Duc's case is a stark reminder of the risks faced by those who challenge the status quo in one of the world’s most repressive regimes.

Despite his controversial prosecution, Huy Duc maintained that he did not intend to oppose the government, acknowledging that some of his posts had violated the state’s interests. His work has been characterized by organizations like Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as an invaluable source for access to information that is often censored by the Hanoi government. "No country can develop sustainably based on fear," he wrote on social media shortly before his arrest, encapsulating the ongoing struggle for free expression in Vietnam.