Key Events:

• Court Jails Internet User Due to Promotion of Fundamental Changes to Vietnam’s Political System
• General Secretary To Lam Meets President Joe Biden in New York, Seeks to Deepen Ties
• Cuban Government Awards To Lam Jose Marti Medal During State Visit
• Kien Giang Police Arrest Mother and Daughter For Alleged Participation in ‘Provisional National Government of Vietnam’

Vietnam Court Jails Internet User Due to Promotion of Fundamental Changes to the Country’s Political System

A court in Lam Dong Province on Sept. 24 opened a trial for Hoang Viet Khanh, 41, a social media user living in Duc Trong District. It sentenced him to eight years on charges of “making, storing, and distributing information, documents, and items critical of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 117 of the Penal Code. After his sentence, Khanh also must serve an additional three years of house arrest.

Hoang Viet Khanh has a Facebook account with over 45,000 followers, and he often shares his commentaries on different social, economic, and political issues. On Feb. 19, 2024, the Security Investigation Bureau of the Lam Dong Provincial Police Department arrested and prosecuted him under Article 117 due to his alleged spreading of “anti-state” materials.