Hà Nội court jails anti-State propagandist for five years

Lê Văn Dũng appears at the trial in Hà Nội on Wednesday. — VNA/VnExpress News Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội People’s Court has sentenced Lê Văn Dũng (commonly known as Dũng Vova), a resident of Hà Đông District, to five years in prison for “conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam.”

At the first trial on Wednesday, the court also decided to put the defendant, born in 1970 and living in Hà Cầu Ward, under five-year surveillance after he completes his jail term.

His accessory, Nguyễn Văn Son, born in 1956 and living in Hà Nội’s Ứng Hoà District, received a suspended 18-month prison sentence with 36 months of probation for “hiding a criminal”.

According to the indictment, from March 2017 to September 2018, Dũng made and posted 12 video clips, including five that distorted the State’s guidelines and policies, defamed the people’s administration, and spread fabricated information stirring public concern.

After police launched legal action, Dũng fled and was later arrested while hiding at Son’s house.

Son said that he knew that Dũng was being wanted by the investigation agency but let him stay at his home until he was found and detained.

At the trial, Dũng admitted to his acts as pointed out in the indictment but said they did not violate the law. Meanwhile, Son pleaded guilty to all charges.

The jury held that it was a serious case that threatened national security. Dũng was aware that his acts ran counter to the law but still committed the crime.

Earlier, he had been fined three times by police in Hoàn Kiếm District for causing public disorder. — VnExpress News