The defendant will be also placed on probation for another three years after release.

According to the indictment, Chi, 55, had since 2018 published on the internet articles denouncing Party guidelines and State policies, distorting history, and defaming late President Ho Chi Minh and other senior leaders of the State. The man had regularly lodged unfounded denunciations and complaints against police officers and local authorities.

Investigators found Chi had created two Facebook accounts to post and share 338 articles and 181 videos, attracting thousands of views, comments and re-shares. These videos, according to investigators, contain ungrounded information aiming to defame the people’s administration and senior leaders of the Party and State live-streamed on the social network by Nguyen Thi Cam Thuy, a local resident hailing from Khanh Hoa province.

Thuy had been detained by the police for interrogation.

Both Chi and Thuy had planned to establish a self-proclaimed National Assembly, an opposition organization, in an attempt to replace the current legislative body.

On June 23, 2020, Chi was detained with many exhibits such as a telephone, a computer, and other electronic devices for livestreaming.