A Vietnamese court in Binh Thuy District, Can Tho City, on Dec. 6 sentenced Le Minh The, a social media user, to 30 months in prison on charges of "abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state and the legitimate rights and interests of other organizations and individuals," under Article 331 of the Penal Code. This is the second time he has been charged and convicted of violating Article 331.

The, 60, was arrested on Feb. 22 this year after the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control of Can Tho City Police found that The had allegedly used his two personal Facebook accounts, "Minh The" and "Le Minh The," to post, share and comment on articles containing content aimed at "distorting the Communist Party's guidelines and the state's laws and policies."

The police investigation agency added that The also posted livestreaming on social media, attracting anti-state critics living in Vietnam and abroad. The police alleged in a statement that those live streamings had “called for the overthrow of the government and demanded political pluralism and separation of powers in Vietnam.”

The refused his right to have a defense lawyer because he believed he was innocent, according to his family. Le Thi Nghia Tinh, his daughter, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that the family had been informed about the trial a few days earlier. Tinh said in a message to RFA that her mother was allowed to attend the trial but was only allowed to observe the trial through a monitor in another room near the courtroom.

The Can Tho social media user was first arrested in October 2018 under Article 331. He was accused of using Facebook to "host livestreaming that contained propaganda defaming the VCP and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." The police said his livestreaming sought to "sabotage national unity, cause divisions between the people and the party, and harm national security and social safety." He was convicted during a trial in March 2019 and was released from prison in July 2020.