Vietnam Sentences 2 Musicians to Prison Terms on Propaganda Charges

A court in Vietnam has sentenced two musicians to prison terms for writing and distributing protest songs, a decision that drew fire from the United States and from international human-rights groups, The Associated Press reported. The musicians, Vo Minh Tri and Tran Vu Anh Binh, were convicted on Tuesday of spreading propaganda against the state after a half-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City, a defense lawyer said. Mr. Tri received four years in prison, Mr. Binh six.

Both were accused of posting songs on a Web site of Patriotic Youth, a opposition group based overseas. Mr. Tri, 34, who uses the stage name Viet Khang, has criticized the government in his songs for not taking a harder line against China in a territorial disputes. A video for his song, “Viet Nam Toi Dau” (Where is My Vietnam?), has become a YouTube hit, with 700,000 views. Mr. Binh, 37, recorded the song “Courage in the Prison” (Nguc Toi Hien Ngang) in support of an imprisoned blogger, Nguyen Van H ai. The song urges people to mount non-violent protests.

In recent weeks, the Communist government has clamped down on dissidents who have successfully used the Internet and social media to spread anti-government messages. The authorities have stepped up arrests and handed down stiff sentences to several people who have not only been writing about high-level government corruption, but have been demanding greater civil liberties.

A month ago, Mr. Hai, who writes under the name Dieu Cay, and two other bloggers critical of the regime were sentenced to long prison terms for “spreading propaganda.” Another opposition blogger, Quoc Quan, has said he was beaten by thugs that he suspects are linked to the government.

“The international community can no longer stand by quietly as these free speech activists are picked off one by one by Vietnam's security apparatus,” said Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch. The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi also criticized the sentences of the two musicians on Tuesday, calling them in an official statement “the latest in a series of moves by Vietnamese authorities to restrict freedom of expression.”