Journalist arrested in Vietnam for ‘anti-state’ activities

HANOI, Vietnam – State media in Vietnam say a journalist has been arrested for “anti-state” activities.

The official Vietnam News Agency said Pham Chi Dung was arrested Thursday on accusations of “producing, possessing and spreading anti-state information and documents.”

Dung, 53, is a former army officer and Communist Party member. The VNA said he had frequently conducted serious and unlawful activities that hurt social security and stability.

Voice of America Vietnamese published an article by Dung last week in which he criticized the European Union for signing a free trade agreement with Vietnam despite its poor human rights improvement and urged the bloc to consider before ratifying it.

Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson said Dung’s arrest showed Vietnam’s “repressive intolerance of any dissenting voices.”