U.S. cries foul as Vietnam jails govt critic for ‘tax dodging’

By Martin Petty, Reuters

A Vietnam court jailed a prominent human rights activist for two and a half years on Wednesday after finding him guilty on tax evasion charges supporters say were aimed at muzzling critics of the Communist Party.

Lawyer Le Quoc Quan (C) holds an Anti-China banner as he chants slogans during an anti-China protest along a street in Hanoi in this July 8, 2012 file photo. Credit: Reuters/Kham

The U.S. Embassy described the ruling against Le Quoc Quan as “disturbing” and called for all prisoners of conscience held in Vietnam to be freed.

The sentence comes at a critical time for Vietnam, which is locked in negotiations with Washington over a trade pact that could bring substantial benefits to the Southeast Asian country as it struggles to revive a once thriving economy.

Quan, 42, was arrested and detained several times after his return in 2007 from the United States, where he completed a six-month research fellowship about civil society and human rights, funded by Congress.

He was found to have avoided paying 437 million dong ($20,700) in tax, according to state-run media. He was also fined 1.2 billion dong.

Quan was arrested in December, nine days after he posted a blog critical of the country’s parliament and a constitution that enshrines the Communist Party of Vietnam’s leading role in the state.

The sentence is the latest in a slew of arrests and prison terms for Vietnamese who have spoken out against the government, despite free speech being guaranteed under the constitution.

Most of the arrests have been bloggers or activists who post comments on the Internet, which is used by a third of Vietnam’s 90 million people.

In his final words before the verdict, Quan said the charges were trumped up and should be dropped, according to his lawyer, Ha Huy Son.

Read the full story by Martin Petty from Reuters.