A Vietnamese court on Monday jailed a blogger for seven years for disseminating anti-state"propaganda" including articles which supported protests against a Taiwanese firm responsible for a toxic leak.
Space for free expression is shrinking in the Communist country, with at least 15 activists and dissidents having been arrested and several others jailed so far this year.
Nguyen Van Hoa, 22, an environmental activist, was accused of instigating protests against authorities via his Facebook account, mainly following the 2016 toxic leak at a steel factory operated by Taiwan's Formosa.
Formosa was fined $500 million after being blamed for dumping waste along Vietnam's central coast, which poisoned fish and decimated the incomes of fishing communities. The plant became the focal point for anger at environmental damage wrought by big business. Protests against the Taiwanese company were met with crackdowns by authorities.
Hoa was also accused of taking part in the protest, according to a state media report quoting the indictment, which said he had"posted articles, videos and images with negative content on his Facebook (page)" while"spreading reactionary propaganda against the party and state's policies".