A court in An Giang Province has sentenced activist Nguyen Nhu Phuong to five years in prison plus three years of probation for spreading “anti-state propaganda,” in accordance with Article 117. A member of the No-U group, Phuong participated in many protests in years past such as against the Formosa environmental disaster and the Cybersecurity Law. During the pandemic, Phuong reposted a video purported to be of an An Giang provincial chief refusing to order the police to prevent people in the city from escaping to the countryside. Prosecutors argued at the trial that the video was fake and damaged the reputation of the Party. In a rare sign of openness, Phuong’s mother and wife were allowed into the courtroom. Born in 1991, Phuong went to Japan to study in 2014. He set up an import business after returning to Vietnam. He’s currently under investigation for a separate drug charge.

Lawyer Mr Dang Dinh Manh, representing Mr Phuong, reported:

On the morning 26 Dec 2022, An Giang province court sentenced Mr Phuong to 5 years jail plus 3 years probation on anti-state propaganda charge pursuant sec 117 of the penal code. His mother and his wife were allowed in court.

Mr Phuong was born in 1991. In 2014, he went to Japan to study. On his return, he opened a shop selling Japanese imports. He had participated in anti-Chinese hegemony protests.

On his Fb page, he often expressed his opinion on social, political issues. Authorities had assessed many of his articles and concluded that they were extremely negative against the state, the Vietnamese Communist Party and top leaders, causing social disorder, public confusion...

During the investigation phase and the trial, Mr Phuong acknowledged he was the owner of several Fb accounts and the author of articles that were considered as violating the law.

The trial lasted over 2 hours, the sentencing statement was read in 15 minutes.

After the trial, Mr Phuong was transported to Ba Ria temporary detention centre, where he was still subject to another criminal prosecution proceedings on 'storing and using illegal drugs'.

He will face an additional sentence on top of the recent one. Mr Phuong is facing an extremely difficult time ahead - his lawyer Mr Manh wrote.