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| Anti-government Bloggers |
Vietnam has jailed three bloggers accused of spreading anti-government propaganda, in a case criticised by human rights groups.
The government, which does not allow freedom of expression, has been under pressure from bloggers over corruption cases and human rights issues.
The three were accused of posting political articles on a banned website called Free Journalists' Club, as well as articles critical of the government on their own blogs.
Nguyen Van Hai, who uses the pen name Dieu Cay, received the longest sentence of 12 years.
Former policewoman Ta Phong Tan, who also wrote a blog called Justice and Truth, was sent to jail for 10 years. In July, her mother died after setting herself on fire in front of a government office.
The third dissident writer, Phan Thanh Hai, was jailed for four years.
The case of Dieu Cay, who was a soldier before he became a dissident writer, was raised by US President Barack Obama earlier this year.
"Hai [blogger Dieu Cay] is innocent. In my opinion, the sentence is too harsh," said Ha Huy Son, Nguyen Van Hai's lawyer.
He added that the judge had not even allowed his client to finish his defence in court because of a "time limit".
The dissident's former wife, Duong Thi Tan, told the BBC: "This is the most unfair sentence ever given to a political prisoner. We, the family, will definitely appeal against it!"
In a statement, the US embassy in Hanoi called on the Vietnamese government to free the group.
"We are deeply concerned by reports that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court convicted and sentenced blogger Dieu Cay to 12 years in prison for peacefully expressing his political views," the statement said.
The trio were given jail sentences of between four and 12 years.
Source: BBC
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