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| Mr Nguyễn Ngọc Già. Photo Laodong Newspaper |
CTV Danlambao/Translated by Danlambao's reader - Mr. Nguyen Dinh Ngoc – widely known author/blogger with pen name Nguyễn Ngọc Già on DanLamBao webpage – was suddenly brought to court for a trial by the communist regime in Vietnam on the afternoon of March 30, 2016. Mr. Nguyen Dinh Ngoc was charged with "propaganda against the state" under Article 88 of the penal code.
After 1 year 3 months of being kept at an unknown location by the communist regime of Vietnam, this is the first time the image of blogger Blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Già is to shown to the public.
Through screenshots on Tuoi Tre Newspaper webpage, blogger Nguyen Ngoc Gia looks older than his age of 50, however, he appears very strong in front of the communist regime’s court.
According to the indictment, the arrest of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Ngoc was brought about by a complaint sent to the police from the state-owned company Saigon Postel Corporation (SPC -http://www.spt.vn); SPC accused blogger Nguyen Ngoc Gia of writing and publishing materials on the internet with the intent of maligning the Communist Party of Vietnam’s reputation.
On December 27, 2014, blogger Nguyen Ngoc Gia’s home was searched by the police and he was arrested at his home in District 7 in Saigon.
22 of blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Già’s articles were posted on websites such as DanLamBao, Đàn Chim Việt, RFA, etc. The communist regime in Vietnam accused blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Già of "slanderously misrepresenting, defaming the Communist Party of Vietnam and the country of Vietnam; and defaming and distorting the truth about the communist party’s leaders".
A source has informed Danlambao webpage that blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Già’s trial hearing started at 2pm and ended at 4pm on the same day; total time for the hearing was 2 hours. Mrs. Lưu Thị Bích Hằng – wife of blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Già - and his son Nguyễn Đình Mạnh Duy were present at the hearing, however, other family relatives were not allowed to be at the hearing.
At the end of the brief trial – presided over by a judge named Vũ Phi Long - the communist regime sentenced Mr. Nguyen Dinh Ngoc (blogger Nguyễn
Ngọc Già) to 4 years in prison and 3 years on probation.
Who is blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Già?
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| Mr Nguyen Dinh Ngoc (aka blogger Nguyen Ngoc Gia) in white shirt, in front of communist court. Photo: Tuoi Tre Newspaper |
Using his pen name, blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Già joined the fight for democracy in the last few years. But blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Già’s life is still of a mystery to many readers inside and outside of Vietnam. He was one of the bloggers who has published articles very steadily. In his articles blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Già has masterfully analyzed political events with high degree of accuracy.
Many of blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Già’s essays are highly valued by activists who are fighting for democracy and human rights (especially in the area of protecting rights of prisoners of conscience) in Vietnam.
Blogger Nguyễn Ngọc Già’s real name is Nguyễn Đình Ngọc. He was born on February 13, 1966 in Quang Nam province and is the youngest son in a family of 10 children.
In 1996, after completing a graduate degree in Economics Program at the University of TP.HCM, he started working for TP.HCM Television Station and served as deputy head of the department of project and planning.
Due to disagreements with the communist regime, in 2008, he quit his job at TP.HCM Television Station after 12 years.
He then started working in real estate business in Saigon.
In 2009, he secretly used the pen name Nguyen Ngoc Gia to write and publish articles about corruptions, social injustices, fighting for prisoners of conscience’s rights, promoting freedom, democracy, human rights, ect.
In 2013, he began to collaborate on a regular basis with DanLamBao webpage. Readers from everywhere are highly attracted to his articles and posted hundreds of comments about his articles.
Due to the arge degree of influence, in 2014 Mr. Nguyễn Ngọc Già’s anonymous email account was repeatedly attacked and he had to constantly change email account.
On December 27, 2014, the police obtained an emergency search warrant to conduct a search of his home and then arrested him at his home, located at the address 2EP1-11 (G11-4) Skygarden 1, Block 6, Tan Phong Ward, District 7 in Saigon.
During the period of being detained at a secret location, his youngest son Nguyễn Đình Vĩnh Khang – who was 19 years old - died in a car accident.
On March 30, 2016, in a trial lasting 2 hours, the communist regime in Vietnam sentenced blogger Nguyen Ngoc Gia to 4 years in prison and 3 years on probation.
