Vietnamese Blogger Faces Death Sentence

Bloggers play an increasingly important role in liberal democracies when it comes to keeping government officials accountable and ensuring that a story is told, even if mainstream media does not feel compelled to cover it. But in communist Vietnam, the situation for bloggers remains particularly perilous, as 26 year old Nguyen Tien Trung is now discovering for himself. Trung edited a blog which offered sharp criticism of Vietnam’s one party, dictatorial state and promoted dissent. He was part of a group of three young Vietnamese men, all tied to pro-democracy opposition groups. Interestingly, Trung submitted a guilty plea when court officials asked him if he felt that he had broken the law, which casts any criticism of the country’s communist leaders as pure, undiluted subversion. The minimum sentence for engaging in subversive activities is 12 years in prison, but the charge can also result in death by a firing squad.

After he was arrested, the prominent opposition blogger expressed “regret” for his actions, as they have negatively impacted his family. Trung worked not only as an outspoken blogger but also served as a technology specialist, after completing his education in France. Unless the Blogosphere places huge international pressure on the Vietnamese government to release Trung and his two colleagues, the young blogger is almost certain to spend over a decade in prison, and may face execution. The prosecutor employed stern words in describing Trung’s crime, noting that his blog was used to “make people disbelieve party and state leadership.” The blogger’s chances of winning his case are miniscule, as Vietnam almost never acquits someone charged with political crimes.