General Hoang Kong Tu and His Communist Newspapers

Lieutenant General Hoang Kong Tu is facing a defamation suit filed by Cu Huy Ha Vu's wife Nguyen Thi Duong Ha on behalf of her jailed husband. General Tu had Vu arrested in Saigon hotel room in November of 2010 on charges of distributing anti-government propaganda and having an extra-marital affair. He is also accused of conspiring against the government with "overseas hostile organizations".

Shortly after his arrest several state run communist newspapers under orders from General Tu published articles on their websites falsely accusing Vu of cheating on his wife by engaging in “lewd and degenerate activities” with a prostitute at the time of his arrest. Vu, a well known attorney admitted to having stripped down to his underwear while in the presence of a woman that was not his wife in that vary room, but had an explanation. The woman was a client and he was in his underwear because it was hot and the air conditioner was broken. The newspapers have since removed the story from their websites.

Vu found himself in the media spotlight back in 2009 when he sued Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung over Chinese mining. He has been a thorn in the side of the socialist regime ever since.