Protests in Vietnam as prominent blogger goes on trial

A prominent Vietnamese blogger went on trial Wednesday on anti-state charges, amid heavy security at Hanoi's central court, with police closing roads and breaking up a protest by dozens of supporters.

Nguyen Huu Vinh, more commonly known as Anh Ba Sam, was arrested in 2014 and has been held in detention ever since, accused of disseminating anti-government articles on his wildly popular news site.

The 60-year-old blogger and his assistant Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, 35, are both accused of "abusing democratic freedoms" -- article 258 of the criminal code -- a charge that carries up to seven years in jail.

Rights groups say article 258 is one of many vaguely worded provisions in Vietnam's criminal code often used to pursue regime critics.

Prosecutors in court Wednesday called for five to six years in prison for Vinh, and two to three years for Thuy, saying that the defendants' acts "were serious".

"The two defendants were stubborn, trying to challenge the law," said prosecutor Nguyen Viet Cuong, according to an AFP reporter in the official observation room for media and diplomats.

The blogs run by the defendants, which attracted more than 3.7 million page views, "misrepresented the party's line... and lowered public trust", in Vietnam's communist leaders, the prosecutor said.

Both Vinh and Thuy were present in court and sat calmly throughout the proceedings, including when questioned by the prosecution. They deny the charges against them.

"There is not enough evidence to convict them. I propose the (court) find the two defendants not guilty," said defence lawyer Tran Quoc Thuan.

- 'He's a hero' -

Vinh, once a policeman himself, founded the well known political and social blog "Ba Sam" in 2007 -- initially to store articles for his own reference.

The blog then became a news aggregator with links to major stories in state-run newspapers as well as blog posts from activists.

Constant hacking attacks forced Vinh to regularly change the blog's web address.

It was taken down shortly after his arrest and has not been available since.

Vietnam bans private media and all newspapers and television channels are state-run. Lawyers, bloggers and activists are regularly subject to arbitrary arrest and detention.

According to Reporters Without Borders, Vietnam has put more than 30 bloggers behind bars -- second only to China.

Outside the court, dozens of protestors waved photographs of Vinh and chanted demands for his release, before scores of uniformed and plain clothed police forced them to disperse.

At least two people were arrested when police broke up the demonstration.

Vo Van Tao, 63, a journalist and friend of Vinh, said he had travelled from southern Nha Trang city to Hanoi by car to attend the trial because authorities prevented him from flying.

"Ba Sam is innocent, he's a hero. He did good work for the people of this country," he told AFP at the protest opposite the court in Hanoi.

Academic and dissident Nguyen Quang A, who was later detained by police after the protest Wednesday, told AFP that Vinh was on trial because "a lot of people read his blog", but the strategy would backfire and trigger greater public interest in what he had to say.
Source: AFP