Dissident Vietnam blogger ‘Mother Mushroom’ released, on way to US
HANOI: A dissident Vietnamese blogger known by the pen name ‘ Mother Mushroom’ was on her way to freedom in the United States yesterday after being released from prison where she was serving 10 years for anti- state propaganda, sources told AFP.
It is rare but not unheard of for political prisoners to be released early from jail in Vietnam, a one-party state whose conservative leadership has waged a brutal crackdown on critics over the past two years, drawing ire from Western allies and rights groups.
But Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh’s release came as US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis visited Vietnam, which has been keen to build ties with its old foe Washington as it nervously eyes the rise of its giant northern neighbour China.
Mother Mushroom – a name that came from her daughter’s nickname was ‘ mushroom’ – became one of Vietnam’s most outspoken critics before she was put behind bars in 2017, thanks to her writing on the taboo topic of deaths in police custody, the environment and politics.
She was freed from jail Wednesday and put on a flight to the United States, an American embassy source, friends and a Vietnam official told AFP.
“Quynh was sent to the US earlier today,” a Vietnamese government official confirmed to AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Family friend Nguyen Lai said “congratulations” on Facebook to Quynh, adding she would soon be in a ‘ free country’ with her two children and mother.
Mother Mushroom was arrested in October 2016 after visiting a fellow activist in prison – but even from jail she remained steadfast in her opposition to the communist government.