Two journalists who were arrested last May after reporting on corruption within the Vietnamese government are set to go on trial next week. The two reporters, Nguyen Van Hai and Nguyen Viet Chien, are charged with “abusing freedom and democracy,” even after their reports led to the conviction of nine people and forced the Vietnamese transportation minister to step down.
Two police officers who allegedly gave information to the journalists are also going on trial for “deliberately revealing state secrets,” according to an AP report on the story.
The Economist has a good description of the corruption that the reporters uncovered, saying the “case was a scandal at the transport ministry in 2006 in which newspapers revealed how officials had gambled around $750,000 of public money on the outcomes of football matches. In the clean-up that followed, the head of a road-building department at the ministry was jailed, along with seven others.”
In a related story, The China Post reports that seven journalists had their press cards taken away in retaliation for covering the corruption story.
Media watchdog groups rightly argue for the release of the two journalists, arguing that jail time will discourage other would-be whistle-blowers and investigative journalists from reporting on government crimes.
The trial could last two days according to a court official, and the charge of “abusing freedom and democracy” has a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.
February 24th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
I believe if I implement this information I will be able to suceed online. Thanks.
February 6th, 2010 at 11:29 am
WOW! You must have worked really hard on this Zoo World Cheats site, I really really like it, in fact it’s ace!
January 27th, 2010 at 7:29 am
I was just browsing for pertinent blog posts for a project research and My partner and i happened to stumble on yours. Many thanks for this helpful info!
January 20th, 2010 at 1:03 am
I recently came accross your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment.
January 14th, 2010 at 6:42 am
I find really find it strange. I don’t quite agree with you, but saying that it is a nice article anyways.
January 1st, 2010 at 6:55 am
Did you see “Michael Jacksons This Is It” ? You should download and enjoy it from http://www.hottittles.com/michael-jacksons-this-is-it/
December 12th, 2009 at 6:44 am
I {usually|normally|typically|generally|mostly} dont {post in|comment in|post on|comment on|answer on|reply on} {Blogs|blogs|people’s blogs|people’s sites|peoples blogs|peoples sites} but your {blog|comment|post} {forced me to|made me|pushed me to|really did it for me}, {amazing|great|fantastic|brilliant|brill|ace|neat} {work|stuff}{..|-|,|.} {beautiful|neat|keep up the good work}
December 4th, 2009 at 7:38 pm
wow, that was good psychology , awesome post .
December 4th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
This post has got me subscribing.here I come!
November 15th, 2009 at 10:19 am
I like your blog design. Where did you get this template? I would love to download it for my site
November 11th, 2009 at 9:35 am
[...] ‘The two reporters, Nguyen Van Hai and Nguyen Viet Chien, are charged with “abusing freedom and democracy,” even after their reports led to the conviction of nine people and forced the Vietnamese transportation minister to step down.’ Arrested in May…so I cannot even imagine what they experienced so far…and now – they are facing two days of trial and possibly seven years in prison. More on this from AP here. [...]
November 6th, 2009 at 10:08 am
This is great and I am certainly going to be back for more of this!
October 30th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Hey usually I don’t post on many blogs these days, but I would like to let you know that this post really forced me to do so! Keep up the good work my friend, I love your blog & your style of writing!
October 22nd, 2009 at 7:02 am
great article one of my biggest problems with blogging is sticking to writing everyday.
October 17th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Hey nice site. I am into the same thing at the moment. You might want to check out my site. Cheers.
October 3rd, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Found some Google Wave invites, let me know if you need one stevencruisest@gmail.com.
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Amazing!! It’s Good.Thanks.
August 30th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Great blog you got here…keep up the good work.
August 30th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
How long have you been blogging…your good at it.
August 30th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
After reading this blog makes me want to start my own :)
August 30th, 2009 at 11:51 am
I never ever post but this time I will,Thanks alot for the great blog.