Pham Viet Dao, a prominent Vietnamese blogger was arrested June 13 in Hanoi on charges of "abusing democratic freedoms" according to the Ministry of Public Security. A former government official and long-standing member of the Vietnamese Communist Party, Mr. Dao ran a blog critical of government leaders and policies, and discussed sensitive issues such as Vietnam's territorial row with China. The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that the charge against Mr. Dao, which violates Article 258 of the nation's penal code, carries a prison sentence of up to seven years.