HANOI: A court in Vietnam on Monday sentenced an aquaculture farmer to seven years in prison after finding him guilty of spreading “anti-state propaganda” on Facebook , state media reported.
Nguyen Tri Gioan, 42, was convicted of “making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the state” at a one-day trial in the central province of Khanh Hoa, the official Vietnam News Agency said.
Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and tolerates little criticism.
Gioan was accused of posting poems and images on his Facebook accounts to “distort, slander and defame the leadership of the (Vietnam Communist) party, the state and leader Ho Chi Minh,” the report cited the indictment as saying.
Reuters could not immediately reach his lawyer for comment. There was no immediate response from Facebook.
The report said Gioan pleaded guilty at the trial. Once the jail term is over, he will be placed under house arrest for three years, it said.
Vietnam jails Facebook user for 7 years for anti-state posts
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Vietnam jails Facebook user for 7 years for anti-state posts
- A court in vietnam sentenced an aquaculture farmer to seven years in prison after finding him guilty of spreading “anti-state propaganda” on Facebook
Book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti set for November release
- Prison letters, photographs and other documents to feature in the book
DUBAI: A new book by jailed Palestinian political leader Marwan Barghouti is set for publication in November, with Penguin confirmed as the publisher, The Guardian reported.
Titled “Unbroken: In Pursuit of Freedom for Palestine,” the book brings together a selection of Barghouti’s writings, including prison letters, interviews, public statements, conversations with public figures, and other documents and photographs.
It also features excerpts from his book “1,000 Days in Solitary Confinement,” which has so far only been published in Arabic.
Fadwa Barghouti, who wrote the introduction to the book, said she hoped it would allow the world to hear her husband “in his own voice, not through the noise surrounding him.”
She said in a statement: “This book finally makes that possible — and I hope it helps people understand who Marwan Barghouti truly is, and how he embodies the Palestinian struggle for freedom and dignity.”
Barghouti, who has spent over two decades in Israeli prison, is a member of the Fatah party. He has long advocated a two-state solution and is widely regarded as a powerful and unifying voice for Palestinians, with many supporters describing him as “Palestine’s Mandela.”
His detention has prompted repeated international advocacy efforts over the years.
In December 2025, an open letter calling for his release was signed by hundreds of celebrities, including Margaret Atwood, Philip Pullman, Zadie Smith and Annie Ernaux; actors Sir Ian McKellen, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’Connor, Mark Ruffalo and Stephen Fry; and musicians Sting, Paul Simon, Brian Eno and Annie Lennox.
In November 2025, his family and several UK-based human rights advocates ran a campaign that included demonstrations and public art installations in Palestine and London.
Barghouti has been jailed by Israel since 2004, having been handed five life sentences plus 40 years for his role during the second Palestinian uprising. He has spent significant time in solitary confinement, has been denied visits by his family for three years, and has been denied access to the International Committee of the Red Cross.
His name was on a list of prisoners to be exchanged for Israeli captives in October 2025, but Israel declined to release him.
