Vietnam | Freedom of speech Blogger arrested for anti-state propaganda

Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam

Police in Vietnam have arrested a blogger for anti-state writings which they said distorted the truth, tarnished the country’s leaders and instigated the public to oppose the government.
Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, 37, was accused of conducting propaganda against the Communist state under Article 88 of the Penal Code and taken into custody in south central Khanh Hoa province Monday, the police said on their website yesterday.
If convicted, she could be jailed for up to 12 years.
Quynh, who blogged under the name of Me Nam or Mother Mushroom, has been blogging about the government’s human rights abuses.
The police statement called Quynh a “fierce” opponent of the government who had been given warnings but still “has shown contempt for the law.”
It said she had posted hundreds of articles online that “distorted the truth, distorted the history, undermined the national unity, (and) tarnished the (Communist) Party and state leaders.”
Police in Khanh Hoa were not available for comment.
Her mother, Nguyen Thi Tuyet Lan, was quoted by the Network of Vietnamese Bloggers as saying Quynh did not commit any crime, but was just speaking the truth.
“She just did what the law allowed and the purpose is for the country to change and to enjoy freedom and democracy,” she said.