Hanoi: A well-known Vietnamese political blogger and his assistant lost their appeal on Thursday when a higher court upheld their jail terms and reaffirmed they had abused their freedom and hurt the state's interests.
The five-year term for blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh, 60, and the three-year term for Nguyen Thi Minh Thuy, 36, were handed down in March and human rights and press freedom advocates have called for their release.