De skrev opsætsige sange og det bryder det regerende kommunistparti sig ikke om i landet, der har modtaget så megen dansk udviklingsbistand, men nu anses for at være for velstående og fremdriftspræget til at stå i Danida-klubben.
Vietnam has jailed two musicians for spreading anti-state propaganda, after they wrote songs critical of government policy, BBC online reports Wednesday.
Tran Vu Anh Binh and Vo Minh Tri were both convicted by a court in Ho Chi Minh City and sentenced to six and four years in prison respectively.
Detained in late 2011, the two were sentenced after a five-hour trial. Ahead of the trial, rights group Amnesty International described their treatment as “ludicrous (latterlig)”.
As well as social issues, their work included songs that criticised China over its territorial claims in the South China Sea and the Vietnamese government’s handling of the row.
Beijing and Hanoi have overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea and tensions between the two nations have been rumbling for months.
“These men are prisoners of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression through their songs and non-violent activities, and should be freed,” said Rupert Abbott, the Amnesty Internationals researcher on Vietnam.
The sentencing comes weeks after three bloggers accused of spreading anti-government propaganda were jailed for between four and 12 years.
Earlier this month, the ruling Communist party was forced to issue a public apology for the behaviour of some officials who have become very wealthy during the recent boom years.
But the jailing of songwriters shows it will not tolerate ordinary citizens drawing attention to its failings,
