A Vietnamese court on Thursday sentenced an independent journalist to 30 months in jail over Facebook posts that criticized the government, according to state media.

Huy Duc worked for influential state-run newspapers before authoring a popular blog critical of country’s leaders.

The sentence for Truong Huy San, an influential reporter, was the latest crackdown on speech by Vietnam, a rising regional power.

“Huy Duc worked for influential state-run newspapers before authoring one of Vietnam’s most popular blogs and Facebook accounts, where he criticized the country’s communist leaders on issues such as corruption, media control and relations with China. The court in Hanoi convicted the 63-year-old of ‘abusing democratic freedoms.'” —

Facebook users worldwide, including in Vietnam, reported being unable to access the platform’s web version on Thursday morning.

A Vietnam court has sentenced independent journalist Truong Huy San to 30 months in prison for posting articles on Facebook that were critical of the government.