Vietnam’s most famous blogger faces a decade in jail

Vietnam’s most famous political blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known by her pseudonym “Mother Mushroom”, has been sentenced to ten years in prison for publishing “reactionary” content. The 37 year old mother of two and activist has come under fire for distorting government policies and defaming the communist regime in Facebook posts and in interviews with foreign media, her lawyer said.

Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh co-founded the Vietnamese Bloggers Network and is known for her work on environmental issues, human rights, police brutality, land confiscation and Vietnam’s dispute with China.

Quynh has gained an international reputation, receiving a number of international awards including The International Women of Courage Award at the US State Department and Defender of the Year award by the Swedish rights group Civil Rights Defenders

“Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh did not admit that she committed any crime, saying she has a right to freedom of expression,” her lawyer said

Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh was arrested in October when visiting a fellow activist in prison. Her sentence has attracted widespread outrage, with many human rights NGO’s calling for her release. Amnesty International and Civil Rights Defenders have jointly called on Vietnam to “ refrain from criminalising and prosecuting people for peacefully expressing the right to freedom of expression and to respect and protect the right to a fair trial”.

The United States has also condemned the sentence, with the said spokeswoman for the Department of State issuing a statement that read “The United States calls on Vietnam to release Mother Mushroom and all other prisoners of conscience immediately, and to allow all individuals in Vietnam to express their views freely and assemble peacefully without fear of retribution,”