WASHINGTON – The United States has said it is deeply concerned about the two-year prison sentence of a prominent environmental activist in Vietnam this week.
“The United States has called on the Vietnamese government to release the world-recognized Yu Thi Khang for her work on climate change and sustainable energy campaigns in Vietnam. as well as other imprisoned environmental activists. working for the benefit of Vietnam and its people,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Kang was arrested in February. from tax evasion charges According to state media reports And on Friday, GreenID said she was sentenced to two years in prison.
She is one of the few countries in the country to challenge government plans to increase the use of coal to drive economic development.
Kang is the first Vietnamese to win the Goldman Environmental Prize, with Kang and GreenID trying to persuade officials to remove the 20,000-megawatt coal-fired power plan from the national energy plan.
But while Kang has received international praise. But she was a target in the country. The imprisonment came as crackdowns on corrupt officials and those involved in the economic scandal escalated.
This communist country is intolerant of dissent. And dozens of activists have been jailed for expressing conflicting views with the authorities.
