National slogan case: The perpetrator may be subject to administrative fines or imprisonment

Regarding the case of a document that has been spreading and causing a stir online, a lawyer recently gave some penalties that the perpetrator could face.

Yesterday (March 10), social media spread a photo that was said to be taken at a screening of the movie "Anh Trai Say Hi: The Villain Who Creates the Hero". In the photo was a "Minutes of handling a slip of the tongue violation" with the slogan edited, from "Independence - Freedom - Happiness" to "Independence - Freedom - Just a little reveal".

Because the minutes contained the logo of Nomad Management Vietnam (Nomad MGMT Vietnam), the company immediately issued a correction on its fanpage. Specifically, Nomad confirmed that it was not related to the image of the document that was spreading on social networks.

"NOMAD brand image has been used without consent or license. We are currently working with the authorities to clarify the matter" - Nomad Management Vietnam's announcement stated.

Speaking to Life and Law, lawyer Diep Nang Binh - head of Tinh Thong Luat Law Firm (Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association) said that for each country, the National Emblem is the name that represents the country in the international arena. Meanwhile, the Motto represents the goal that the country is aiming for on the path of building and developing the country. Any organization or individual that misuses the National Emblem and Motto can be considered as providing false or distorted information.

According to lawyer Binh, currently, the law does not have specific regulations on whether the act of arbitrarily changing the Vietnamese motto will be prosecuted or not. However, according to the provisions of Article 351 of the 2015 Penal Code on the act of insulting the National Flag, National Emblem, and National Anthem, as follows:

Crime of insulting the National Flag, National Emblem, National Anthem. Anyone who intentionally insults the National Flag, National Emblem, or National Anthem shall be subject to a warning, non-custodial reform for up to 03 years, or imprisonment from 06 months to 03 years.

Accordingly, the act of arbitrarily altering the National Emblem of Vietnam will be subject to a warning, non-custodial reform for up to 03 years or imprisonment from 06 months to 03 years. In case, if the misspelled National Emblem or Motto is spread on social networks, it may fall into the following cases of law violation:

Illustration photo.

The act of modifying the National Emblem and Motto and posting it on social networks is a violation of the 2018 Law on Cyber Security, especially if it negatively affects social awareness or reduces the prestige of the State.

According to Article 101 of Decree 15/2020 (amended and supplemented by Decree 14/2022), the act of posting false information on social networks can be subject to an administrative fine of 10-20 million VND for individuals and 20-40 million VND for organizations, and the act of being forced to remove the violating content.

Illustration photo.

If the violation is serious, has the purpose of distorting, greatly affects the reputation of the State or negatively impacts society, the violating individual may be prosecuted under Article 331 of the 2015 Penal Code for the crime of "Abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the rights and legitimate interests of organizations and individuals".

Accordingly, if an individual takes advantage of freedom of speech to infringe upon the interests of the State, organizations or individuals, they can be sentenced to non-custodial reform for up to 3 years or imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years.

Illustration photo.

Thus, for the act of making up the National Emblem and Motto, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, administrative sanctions or criminal prosecution will be imposed. Therefore, any individual or organization when using the National Emblem and Motto must comply with the regulations, avoid distorting or disseminating false information that can lead to serious legal consequences.

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