Vietnamese journalists jailed

The US and media campaigners have condemned the guilty verdicts on two Vietnamese journalists who helped expose a big corruption scandal.



The journalists were convicted of abusing democratic freedoms and propagating false information.



The US embassy in Hanoi called the verdicts disappointing and counterproductive in combating the social scourge of corruption.



Reporters Without Borders called the sentences a terrible step backwards.



One journalist, Nguyen Viet Chien, was jailed for two years.



The other, Nguyen Van Hai, pleaded guilty and was freed after being deemed to have served his sentence.