Vietnamese Blogger Sentenced to Years in Jail for Environmental Protest.
A Vietnamese environmental activist and blogger has been sentenced to six years in prison under the country's new law that cracks down on online dissent.
Nguyen Ngoc Anh, a 39-year old shrimp farmer from the southern town of Binh Dai, was arrested and tried for what state media described as "making, storing, releasing, and circulating information and documents against the state."
He was sentenced to six years in prison Thursday by the People's Court of Ben Tre province, followed by five years under house arrest, according to the state-run Vietnam News Agency (VNA).
The European Commission called the sentence a "direct breach" of international human rights agreements.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Nguyen took part in environmental protests against Formosa Plastics Group, a Taiwanese steel company that admitted to being responsible for an environmental disaster in 2016. The company allegedly dumped toxic waste into the sea, killing huge numbers of marine creatures.
He also publicly boycotted the national election in May 2016 and repeatedly voiced support for Vietnam's political prisoners, said HRW.
The Southeast Asian country has been intensifying its efforts to stifle online speech.
A new cybersecurity law that criminalizes criticism of the government came into effect in January.
A number of opposition bloggers have been imprisoned.
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