Investigative journalist jailed for 'abusing freedom and democracy'

HCMC People’s Court on Tuesday sentenced reporter Nguyen Hoai Nam to 3.5 years in jail for “groundless attacks” online on government officials and organizations.

The court said the 49-year-old investigative journalist was guilty of "abusing freedom and democracy to infringe on the legal interests of the state, organizations and individuals."

Nam told the court he was not guilty, but the court rejected his claims. The court said its ruling had considered his working history with certificates of merit issued by state agencies for his articles. However, based on dossiers, documents and other proof, the court said his sentence was "lawful".

According to the verdict, while working for Ho Chi Minh City Law newspaper in 2018, he wrote a series of stories on infringements at the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration and sent documents he had collected to the Ministry of Public Security for probing.

The ministry and law enforcement agencies had subsequently worked together to charge and sentence the wrongdoers. Later, Nam shared many posts on Facebook criticizing the Ministry of Public Security's investigative police (C01), saying 15 individuals should have been punished, not three. He said C01 "covered up and omitted criminals".

Nam's denunciations were then reviewed by the Ministry of Public Security and the Supreme People's Procuracy. The duo replied that "no signs of infringement have been detected" as in Nam's denunciation, but he continued to make posts on his Facebook account.

Nam's denunciations were then reviewed by the Ministry of Public Security and Supreme People's Procuracy. The duo replied that "no signs of infringement have been detected" as in Nam's denunciation, but he continued to share posts on Facebook.

Nam was arrested in April 2021 in Ho Chi Minh City for violating Article 331 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.