VOA News, Marianne Brown
October 30, 2012
HANOI — Two prominent Vietnamese musicians have become the latest activists to be jailed for spreading songs that are critical of the Chinese government. Marianne Brown reports from Hanoi.Despite strict censorship spanning decades, composers in Vietnam have rarely been prosecuted for the content of their music. However the work of Vo Minh Tri, better known under his pen name Viet Khang, and Tran Vu Anh Binh crossed the line.
At a court in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday, activists say the two became the first musicians in recent memory to be given jail terms for their music. Khang was sentenced to four years in jail and two under house arrest, while Binh was jailed for six years, also with two years house arrest.
