The US called on Vietnam to release blogger Nguyen Lan Thang, who was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday for anti-state activities, ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s weekend visit for talks in Hanoi.
The US stands with Thang’s family and coworkers “in calling for his immediate release”, Amanda Bennett, chief executive of the US Agency for Global Media, said during an online briefing, according to a statement posted on the State Department’s website. “Journalism is not a crime,” she said.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The State Department has said Blinken plans to meet senior officials during his visit.
The Hanoi People’s Court sentenced Nguyen Lan Thang for making, storing and disseminating information aimed at opposing the state, according to Hanoimoi, a publication of Hanoi’s party committee. Thang, arrested in July, was also sentenced to two years of probation. He is 47, according to local media.
Thang supported land rights petitioners, opposed forced land confiscation and defended human rights, according to Human Rights Watch. In a statement, Human Rights Watch Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson urged Blinken to press Vietnam’s leadership to end the “systemic abuse of freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.”
Vietnam has imprisoned more than 160 political activists, according to the organisation.