HANOI, Vietnam -- Vietnamese police have arrested one of the country's best known bloggers for posting criticism of the communist government, the latest in an intensified crackdown against dissent in the one-party, authoritarian state.
Tuoi Tre newspaper reported Monday that police arrested Truong Duy Nhat, 49, at his home in central Danang City on Sunday and that he was flown with a police escort to the capital Hanoi for an investigation. He was accused of violating Article 258 of the Penal Code for "abusing democratic freedoms," an offence that carries up to seven years in prison.
New York-based Human Rights Watch urged the government to "immediately and unconditionally" release Nhat.
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement that Article 258 was "a legal outrage" that serves the interests of the ruling Communist Party.
Nhat was a reporter at a state-run newspaper before quitting more than two years ago to focus on his blog. His posts have often criticized the government, including one calling for the prime minister and the Communist Party chief to resign.
He said in 2010 that he was quitting as a reporter "to write about things that I want to write."
At least 38 activists have been convicted and imprisoned on charges of violating national security laws, which critics say were vaguely regulated to silence peaceful expression.
The government says no one has been jailed for peacefully expressing their views, only those who break the law.
