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The US government wants the release of more political prisoners in Vietnam after authorities release "Mother Mushroom", a prominent dissident, following Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis's visit this week.
Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, a 39-year-old blogger better known as Mother Mushroom because of her daughter's nickname, was released Wednesday morning and arrived in the United States later that day with her mother and children , announced the US Embassy. Embassy spokeswoman Karen Tang said Ms. Quynh and her family had made it clear to US officials in previous conversations that she wanted to travel to the United States if she was released.
Washington did everything to get Ms. Quynh released. She was arguably the most important critic of the imprisoned government in recent years. She was well known in Vietnam for her campaigns for human rights and the environment – especially a toxic spill that wiped out marine life along much of the coastline. 2016.
In 2016, people demonstrated in Hanoi against the massive mortality of fish in the central province of Vietnam. They hold a big banner on which is inscribed "Who poisoned the central coast of Vietnam?"
Photo:
Luong Thai Linh / European Pressphoto Agency
She was arrested in October 2016 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for defaming the Vietnamese communist government. At one point, Ms. Quynh's 11-year-old daughter wrote to First Lady Melania Trump to help secure her mother's release prior to President Trump's visit to Vietnam for an economic summit. ;last year.
It is unclear whether Ms. Quynh's release was related to Mr. Mattis' visit, during which he visited a site contaminated with Agent Orange's dioxin during the Vietnam War. The United States will fund a clean-up effort, which will begin next year, to improve relations between the two enemies of war and to counter China's growing influence in the region.
US authorities are now asking the Vietnamese government to release more political prisoners. She wants the country "to allow all Vietnamese citizens to express their views without fear of reprisals," said Ms. Tang.
The Vietnamese authorities have not responded to requests for comment on Ms. Quynh's release.
Vietnam launched a massive crackdown on dissent in 2016, motivated in part by the authorities' concern over
could be used to spark anti-government protests.
According to Amnesty International, more than 100 prisoners of conscience are still in Vietnamese prisons, often in deplorable conditions.
That number rose on Wednesday when another activist was sentenced to seven years in jail at the end of a one-day trial. Prosecutors accused 27-year-old Nguyen Dinh Thanh of propaganda against the state by distributing leaflets calling on factory workers to join protests against proposals to sell land to foreign companies.
Write to James Hookway at [email protected]
