A Vietnamese academic, who published books detailing his suggestions for the improvement of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam, was charged with “abusing democratic freedoms” and banned from leaving the country.
Nguyen Son Lo, 74, the former director of the SENA Institute of Technology Research and Development, was prosecuted and placed under house arrest by the Ministry of Public Security on Wednesday.
Authorities issued a search warrant at his house in Hanoi and workplace but provided no explanation for why the investigation was launched against him, a local news agency reported.
His close friend, Nguyen Khac Mai, told Radio Free Asia that Lo produced “a number of books” with suggestions for the country’s economy and culture and formed a think tank to research the cultural issue in Vietnam….