A Vietnamese court sentenced an environmental activist to three years in prison on tax fraud charges, just days after the government discussed human rights with US President Joe Biden on a state visit.
Hoang Hong, the director of an environmental advocacy organisation she founded in 2013 and led until 2022, was found guilty of tax evasion after a half-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City, according to her lawyer Nguyen Van Tu.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges.
According to the charges, Hong avoided paying 6.7 billion dong ($274,488) in taxes between 2012 and 2022.
Her lawyer stated she was also ordered to pay a cash fine of 100 million dong and that she has 15 days to decide whether to appeal the sentence.
Hong in 1997 became the first Vietnamese to visit Antarctica, and was hailed by former President Barack Obama in 2018 for mobilising “a youth-led movement to create a greener world” and was awarded a grant from the first Obama Foundation Scholars Program at Columbia University that year.
Report says Hong expressed her remorse and asked for leniency at the trial so that she could “return and continue to contribute to the society and the country.”
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday called on the Vietnam government to drop all charges against Hong and unconditionally release her.
The UN human rights office this week raised concerns about the arrest.
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