Vietnam: Noodle seller sentenced to 5 years in prison for parodying a minister
In Vietnam, a noodle seller was sentenced to five and a half years in prison for parodying a powerful minister. New proof, if any is needed, of the fact that the communist regime does not tolerate the slightest sign of dissent
The wrong of this trader: to have imitated General To lam (right). AFP - HOANG DINH NAM
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In November 2021, a scandal rocks Vietnam: the Minister of Security, General To Lam, is in London where he is filmed eating a steak covered in 24-carat gold leaf cooked by the star social media restaurateur known as Salt Bae. Cost of steak: 1,600 pounds, and this while at the same time the Vietnamese population, hit hard by the Covid pandemic, is struggling to eat its fill.
A few days later, a noodle seller arouses general hilarity among Internet users: Bui Tuan Lam also publishes a video. We see him sprinkling his noodle soups not with gold leaf, but with green onions... by imitating to perfection the characteristic gesture of the luxury chef of London.
He was arrested and imprisoned. His wife and three daughters have seen him only once since. On Thursday, May 25, they learned that Bui Tuan Lam was sentenced to five and a half years in prison, officially for "undermining people's trust in the state". His trial lasted only one day.
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- Viet Nam
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