Charles Tannock, author . – Madam President, in recent years Vietnam has made great economic strides, but human rights organisations continue to report that the democratic freedoms of speech, religion and press are still sadly lacking. Last month, 22-year-old Nguyen Van Hoa was sentenced to seven years in prison for blogging about an intentional toxic spill along 120 miles of coastline, which destroyed marine wildlife and damaged the health of its inhabitants. He joins Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who was also jailed in June for highlighting the same toxic spill.

This crackdown on environmental activism using national security provisions in the Penal Code of Vietnam is deeply alarming. Sadly, although it is commendable that Vietnam has one of the highest levels of internet usage in East Asia, all media is now owned by the state, and civil and political rights are still deteriorating. In order for Vietnam to remain an important PSA and FDA partner of the European Union, I urge its government today to work to uphold the basic freedoms of its people and to release those imprisoned only for expressing their opinion.