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| Vietnam frees Nguyen Tien Trung and Vi Duc Hoi | Vietnam frees Nguyen Tien Trung and Vi Duc Hoi |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Vietnam has released two high-profile political activists amid ongoing free trade talks with the United States. | Vietnam has released two high-profile political activists amid ongoing free trade talks with the United States. |
| Democracy activists Nguyen Tien Trung and Vi Duc Hoi were freed from prison over the weekend. | Democracy activists Nguyen Tien Trung and Vi Duc Hoi were freed from prison over the weekend. |
| Earlier in April, prominent activist Cu Huy Ha Vu was also released from jail. He has since flown to the US, which had campaigned for his release. | Earlier in April, prominent activist Cu Huy Ha Vu was also released from jail. He has since flown to the US, which had campaigned for his release. |
| Vietnam is in negotiations with the US over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a major free trade deal. | Vietnam is in negotiations with the US over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a major free trade deal. |
| Members of the US Congress said that greater US-Vietnam co-operation should be tied to Vietnam improving its human rights record. | Members of the US Congress said that greater US-Vietnam co-operation should be tied to Vietnam improving its human rights record. |
| 'Long way to go' | 'Long way to go' |
| Vietnam, a one-party Communist state, has one of south-east Asia's fastest-growing economies. However, the government suppresses political dissent and religious freedom, and private media is banned. | Vietnam, a one-party Communist state, has one of south-east Asia's fastest-growing economies. However, the government suppresses political dissent and religious freedom, and private media is banned. |
| Blogger Nguyen Tien Trung had served nearly five years of his seven-year jail term for subversion. He now faces three years of house arrest. | Blogger Nguyen Tien Trung had served nearly five years of his seven-year jail term for subversion. He now faces three years of house arrest. |
| Former Communist Party official Vi Duc Hoi, who campaigned for democracy, served four and a half years of his five-year term for anti-government propaganda. He now faces five years of house arrest. | |
| Vi Duc Hoi told US-funded broadcaster Radio Free Asia: "It was due to international pressure that the government of Vietnam had to release me." | |
| Meanwhile, legal activist Cu Huy Ha Vu was released this month after spending three years in prison. | Meanwhile, legal activist Cu Huy Ha Vu was released this month after spending three years in prison. |
| Mr Vu, the son of a celebrated poet who was also a leading revolutionary and confidant of the former president Ho Chi Minh, was sentenced to seven years in jail for spreading anti-government propaganda. | Mr Vu, the son of a celebrated poet who was also a leading revolutionary and confidant of the former president Ho Chi Minh, was sentenced to seven years in jail for spreading anti-government propaganda. |
| He had called for democratic reforms in Vietnam and tried to sue the Vietnamese prime minister twice over a mining project he said would harm the environment. | He had called for democratic reforms in Vietnam and tried to sue the Vietnamese prime minister twice over a mining project he said would harm the environment. |
| Speaking after the releases of Nguyen Tien Trung and Vi Duc Hoi, Human Rights Watch Asia director Phil Robertson said: "There are still hundreds more political prisoners languishing in Vietnam's prisons, so there is a very long way to go before we can say that Vietnam is making any sort of appreciable progress on human rights." | Speaking after the releases of Nguyen Tien Trung and Vi Duc Hoi, Human Rights Watch Asia director Phil Robertson said: "There are still hundreds more political prisoners languishing in Vietnam's prisons, so there is a very long way to go before we can say that Vietnam is making any sort of appreciable progress on human rights." |