Vietnam releases 2 political prisoners ahead of leader To Lam’s US trip
Metadata
- Vietnam releases 2 political prisoners ahead of leader To Lam’s US trip
- September 21, 2024
- Article Body Text <p><a href="https://www.rfa.org/vietnamese/in_depth/prisoner-of-conscience-tran-huynh-duy-thuc-released-09202024141900.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Read RFA’s coverage of this topic in Vietnamese</span></a></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vietnam has released two prominent political prisoners, a day before its top leader To Lam headed to the United States to speak before the United Nations General Assembly.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Climate campaigner </span><a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/vietnam-activist-sentenced-09282023002416.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hoang Thi Minh Hong</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, was sentenced to three years in prison last September for tax evasion.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She was freed on Friday from a prison in Gia Lai province, her husband told the </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">AFP </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">news agency.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“She took a bus home, it took her 12 hours to reach Ho Chi Minh City and I picked her up from the bus station at 5:00 am this morning,” Hoang Vinh Nam told the news agency.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s just amazing. She’s good, she’s healthy and she’s the same person she was when she went in.”</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hong, 52, founded the non-profit CHANGE VN, which campaigned to raise environmental awareness.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She shut it down in October last year after the arrest of several environmental activists.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Prosecutors accused her of dodging US$274,000 in taxes, which she was ordered to pay back, along with a fine of $4,000.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p> <hr/> <p><b>RELATED STORIES</b></p> <p><a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/project88-climate-change-08212024221119.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vietnam’s clean energy transition is failing, pressure group says</span></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/vietnam-activist-sentenced-09282023002416.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vietnamese activist sentenced to 3 years in prison</span></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/lantostranhuynhduythuc-01302023145416.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">US Human Rights Commission calls on Vietnam to release campaigner</span></a></p> <hr/> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Authorities also released </span><a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/jailed-blogger-02142024142645.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tran Huynh Duy Thuc</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, eight months before the end of his16-year sentence, his brother Tran Huynh Duy Tan told Radio Free Asia.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There is nothing more joyful than this, waiting every day, every minute, every second,” Tan said. “There is nothing more to say, this moment has been very much awaited.”</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tan added that his whole family had gathered at Thuc’s house to welcome him home.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thuc, 57, is the co-founder of human rights group Vietnam Path. He was arrested in 2009 and sentenced the following year for "activities aimed at overthrowing the people's government," in connection with his online articles</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> criticizing Vietnam’s one-party state.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I was very surprised and also very happy when Thuc was released a few months early, before the end of the 16-year term,” said former political prisoner </span><a href="https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/trung-interview-12202023010856.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nguyen Tien Trung</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, who fled to Germany to avoid possible re-arrest.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“However, for me, Mr Thuc's sentence is completely unjust and the 16-year sentence is incorrect, completely wrong by the Vietnamese government.”</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Trung told RFA Vietnamese that Thuc’s release comes at a time when the government is clamping down hard on the democracy movement.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Most of the prominent democracy activists had to leave or were arrested,” Trung said. “This means that Thuc will face many difficulties when he gets home and there may be very few people left by his side to continue the fight.”</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There was no announcement from the government as to why the two were released but it came one day before Communist Party General Secretary To Lam boarded a flight from Hanoi to New York where he is due to speak at a UN Summit of the Future and the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, </span><a href="https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/vietnam-s-party-leader-to-lam-leaves-for-working-trip-to-us-cuba-4795318.html"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vietnamese media</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> reported.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In January 2023, the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, a bipartisan group of U.S. Congress members, called on Vietnam to release Thuc “immediately and without condition.”</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">And in September last year, the U.S. State Department reacted to news of Hong’s sentencing by calling for the release of the environmental activist and other political prisoners.</span></p> <p></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“NGO leaders like Hoang Thi Minh Hong play a vital role in tackling global challenges, proposing sustainable solutions in the global fight against the climate crisis, and combating wildlife and timber trafficking,” </span><a href="https://www.state.gov/on-the-conviction-and-sentencing-of-vietnamese-ngo-leader-hoang-thi-minh-hong/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">the State Department said</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p></p> <p><b><i>Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn.</i></b><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p>
- Content Type Text
- Language English
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Subtitles / Dubbing Available No
- Rights AFP/RFA edit
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date September 21, 2024 01:59 EDT
- Byline By RFA Vietnamese
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America - English