Vietnam: Lawyer sentenced to three years for critical Facebook posts!

A Vietnamese court sentenced the former lawyer Tran Dinh Trien to three years in prison. The verdict was announced on Friday. Trien was convicted of Facebook posts that were considered under the state because they criticized a leading judge. He is the last high-ranking lawyer who was targeted by the authorities because of his online expressions. According to Barrons report human rights activists about an increased persecution of civil society in Vietnam.

tran dinh trien was convicted of “abuse of democratic freedoms to the detriment of state interests”. The 65-year-old had published content on his personal Facebook page, which were classified as "not authentic" and impaired the reputation of the courts and the President of the Supreme Court. He was imprisoned from June 2024 until his judgment, with his legal license being suspended a week before the judgment. Trien was the deputy chairman of the Hanoi Hanoi Chamber of Health from 2013 to 2018 and had defended activists and represented clients in sensitive matters such as country confiscations.

Details on the allegations

The three defendant Facebook posts were published in April and May 2024. In these, Trien criticized the top judge, who allegedly prevented the presence of family members of the accused in court proceedings and the recording of videos by journalists and lawyers during public trials. Human rights groups warn that the case could suppress free expression in Vietnam, as in a report by devdiscourse .

A daunting effect is pointed out to freedom of expression, since more and more government critics are being pursued under Article 331 of the Vietnamese Criminal Code. Human rights activists ask Vietnam to leave the accusation against Trien and warn of a more comprehensive suppression of different opinions in the country.