Hanoi, Aug. 3 -- The People's Court of Hanoi on August 3 held a first-instance public trial in absentia for Doan Bao Chau, who was charged with "producing, storing, disseminating or propagandising information, documents and items aimed at opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam" under Point b, Clause 1, Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code. According to the indictment issued by the Hanoi People's Procuracy, on May 2, 2024, the Investigation Security Agency under the Hanoi Department of Public Security received reports that Chau (born in 1968, residing in Giang Vo ward, Hanoi), appeared in livestreams on the BBC Vietnamese YouTube channel and his personal Facebook account, "Chau Doan", delivering content distorting and defaming the people...