Economics
Vietnamese Musicians Jailed Amid Crackdown on Dissent
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Vietnam jailed two musicians for spreading anti-state propaganda, widening a crackdown on criticism of the government as it grapples with an economy that’s poised to grow at the slowest pace in 13 years.
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court yesterday sentenced Vo Minh Tri to four years in prison and Tran Vu Anh Binh to six years for composing or editing songs critical of the government, said Tran Vu Hai, Tri’s lawyer. The U.S. yesterday called on Vietnam to release Tri, who was cited in a public petition to President Barack Obama seeking to tie an expansion of trade with Vietnam to the release of imprisoned human rights advocates.