HANOI: A Vietnamese activist was jailed for 12 years Tuesday after writing articles critical of the government and posting them on his Facebook page, nearly a decade since being released from prison for a similar offense.
Writer and poet Tran Duc Thach, who was convicted on charges of attempting to overthrow the government, was also sentenced to three years of house arrest.
The 69-year-old was jailed for three years in 2009 for creating “propaganda against the state,” but was among more than 10,000 prisoners granted amnesty in 2011 to mark the country’s National Day.
Vietnam’s government has stepped up efforts in recent months to muzzle critics and dissidents during the run-up to a leadership transition in January which poses an especially tense period for the Communist state.