Lawyer, ex-journalist arrested for abusing freedoms

By Pham Du, Viet Tuan June 7, 2024 | 06:20 pm PT

A lawyer and a former journalist have been arrested on charges of abusing freedom to upload Facebook content that violated the state’s interests and several individuals’ legal interests.

Officers from the Ministry of Public Security on Friday took in Truong Huy San, known on social media as Osin HuyDuc, and Tran Dinh Trien, head of the Hanoi Bar Association’s "Vi Dan" (for the people) legal office.

San, 62, from the central province of Ha Tinh, fought for three years against the Khmer Rouge in the 1980s. After leaving the army, he worked for five different newspapers.

Truong Huy San in a photo posted on his personal Facebook account in April 2024.

He went to the U.S. in 2012 for a year’s training at Harvard University.

His Facebook account was deactivated on June 2.

Trien has a Ph.D in law and has spent more than 40 years in the legal field.

Lawyer Tran Dinh Trien in a photo posted on his personal Facebook account.

He opened the Vi Dan law office in 2006, and was vice chairman of the Hanoi Bar Association in 2020-2025.