Vietnam to deport American protester

HONG KONG -- American citizen William Nguyen will be deported from Vietnam, a court in the country's largest city ruled Friday, after detaining and convicting him for his participation in a protest last month.

Nguyen, a 32-year old Houston native of Vietnamese descent, was arrested by plainclothes police during protests in Ho Chi Minh City against a proposed law on special economic zones that many fear would benefit Chinese investors.

In a one-day trial Friday, the court convicted him of "disturbing public order" during the protest. But the court believed he admitted to wrongdoing and showed remorse, and therefore handed down the lowest sentence possible, without any prison time.

Nguyen "has been sentenced to expulsion and forced to leave Vietnam immediately," Trinh Vinh Phuc, one of Nguyen's lawyers, said in a statement on his Facebook page. Nguyen was facing up to seven years in prison.

U.S. lawmakers have been pushing for Nguyen's release since his detention June 10. Videos of his arrest showed him dragged by plainclothes police through a crowd of protesters, blood streaming from his head and without any shoes. The demonstration during which he was arrested was one of several in the country, a rare show of opposition in Vietnam over three special economic zones where land could be rented for up to 99 years, stoking fears of Chinese dominance of Vietnam's economy. Vietnam's legislature agreed to postpone the adoption of the law and allow time for more research.

Nguyen's mother fled Saigon four years after Vietnamese communist forces captured the city in 1975 and settled in Houston, his sister Victoria Nguyen said in a previous interview with The Washington Post. Their fraught family history inspired William Nguyen to study Vietnam at Yale University and to visit the country numerous times.

He stopped in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, in June on his way to the National University of Singapore for his graduation from a master's degree program next month, his sister said, and he joined the protests to be a part of rare moment of public assembly.

Francisco Bencosme, Asia Pacific advocacy manager for Amnesty International, said he was pleased that Nguyen "will be reunited with his family" but noted that he should not have been detained and charged in the first place for "freely expressing himself."

"This case shows the United States has leverage on Vietnam human rights issues if it chooses to use it," Bencosme said.

In Hanoi this month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo raised the issue of Nguyen's detention with senior Vietnamese officials, according to the department's spokesman.

Despite Friday's ruling, rights activists have pointed out that six people have been sentenced to up to two and a half years in prison for their participation in the protest, and others are awaiting trial. Two women are still missing after the demonstrations, activists say, their whereabouts unknown to even their families.

"This is a stark reminder to the American people that in the past year Vietnam has intensified its crackdown on real or perceived dissidents while this administration continues to deepen economic and security engagement," Bencosme added.

A Section on 07/21/2018

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