Vietnam detains student over ‘anti-state propaganda’
A Vietnamese student who had been missing for two weeks has been held by police over “security matters” state-run media say.
Nguyen Phuong Uyen, 20, is being questioned at Long An province jail, says the Ho Chi Minh Law newspaper.
She is accused of distributing anti-state leaflets, the paper added.
Police “stormed into her room” on 14 October and held her in an unknown location, students said in a letter to President Truong Tan Sang on Saturday.
A letter in support of Uyen has been posted on blogs and social media. (AP)
Distributing anti-state material, a charge regularly used against dissidents in the Communist country, carries a maximum 20-year jail term.
Uyen had joined anti-China protests and anti-corruption campaigns against the government, local reports online say.
University students have been actively calling for the release of Uyen, a student at HCM City’s Food Technology University.
The government has recently been stepping up efforts against critics, rights groups say.
Last month, it jailed three bloggers accused of spreading anti-government propaganda for between four and 12 years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20080032
Category: Society
