Pham Chi Dung brought to court for anti-State propaganda
The People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City held a court for Pham Chi Dung and his two accomplices – Nguyen Tuong Thuy and Le Huu Minh Tuan – for the charge of making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam under the Penal Code.
In the case, Dung is identified as the mastermind. He found a so-called “Hoi nha bao doc lap Viet Nam” (Vietnamese independent journalists’ association) to incite other people to make propaganda on distorted information about policies of the Party and State.
According to authorised agencies, the defendants released dozens of writings distorting and defaming the people’s administration, while fabricating information to harm the prestige of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the State.
Alongside, Dung set up and made use of his relationships with online news websites and foreign media outlets to run his stories and answer interviews with the aim of changing the political institution of Vietnam.
On October 21, 2019, Dung was arrested by the police of Ho Chi Minh City, while Thuy was detained on May 23, 2020 and Tuan on June 12, 2020.
The city People’s Procuracy said the acts of the defendants are extremely serious and dangerous to society as they aim to undermine national security and social safety and order, abet malcontents, erode people’s trust in the Party and State, and cause public worries.
