Defendant Trương Huy San, 64, at the first-instance trial on Thursday in Hà Nội.—VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — A man has been jailed for 30 months for posting articles on social media, leading to a negative impact on national security, public order and social safety.

Trương Huy San, 64, from Ward 14, District 3, Hồ Chí Minh City, was sentenced on Thursday at the People's Court of Hà Nội.

He was found guilty of 'abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the rights and the legitimate interests of organisations and individuals,' as stipulated in Article 331, Clause 2 of the Penal Code.

According to the indictment presented by the Supreme People's Procuracy during the trial, from 2015 to 2024, San independently collected information, documents, drafted and posted several articles on his personal Facebook account 'Truong Huy San (Osin Huy Duc)', including 13 posts that contained content infringing upon the interests of the State and the rights and legitimate interests of various organisations and individuals.

The posts garnered significant interaction, comments and shares, leading to a negative impact on national security, public order and social safety. As such, it was deemed necessary to process the case in accordance with the law.

San told the court that he had created, managed and used the Facebook page “Truong Huy San (Osin Huy Duc)” on his own, without sharing administrative rights with anyone else. The posts published on his Facebook were solely his responsibility, with the information used to write the articles being gathered and assessed independently by him.

The defendant said that when posting the articles, his intention was not to oppose the Party or the State.

However, he acknowledged that some of the content in the 13 posts violated the interests of the State and the legitimate rights of several organisations and individuals.

San expressed regret for his actions and took responsibility before the authorities, the organisations, and the individuals affected by his posts.

As a result, San admitted that his actions violated Article 331 of the Penal Code and agreed with the charges brought against him by the Supreme People's Procuracy for 'abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the rights and legitimate interests of organisations and individuals'.

In his final statement in court, the defendant acknowledged his violation of the law and expressed hope that the court would consider reducing his sentence, allowing him the opportunity to engage in social activities.

The trial panel consisted of three members, one presiding judge and two people's assessors.

Two prosecutors were assigned to practise prosecutorial rights and oversee the first-instance trial.

Earlier, one lawyer had registered to represent and protect the legitimate rights and interests of San.

During the preparation phase for the trial, the defendant's family enlisted an additional lawyer.— VNS