Vietnam dissenter jailed for 8 years for Facebook posts criticising handling of pandemicA critic of the Vietnamese government was sentenced to eight years in prison for "anti-state activities" after he shared social media posts skeptical of the Communist party's handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.Bui Van Thuan, a 41-year-old online honey salesman and chemistry teacher, was detained in August 2021, days after he posted a comment on Facebook questioning the Vietnamese authorities after locals began panic buying ahead of a lockdown.He was charged with “making, storing, disseminating or propagandising information, materials and products that aim to oppose the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam".In one post titled “Doing the math for the Communist Party” on 21 August last year, he argued that the government’s plan to send soldiers to Ho Chi Minh City to shop for people during the lockdown was not feasible.Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, criticising the trial said: "The Vietnamese government's baseless prosecution of Bui Van Thuan for Facebook posts demonstrates the extent of its disregard for free expression.""