Huynh Trong Hieu detained on his way to receive human rights award on behalf of father and sister, also prominent bloggers
Vietnamese authorities have stopped a blogger from flying to the US to pick up a human rights award on behalf of his father and sister, triggering criticism from the American embassy
Huynh Trong Hieu said on Wednesday that police detained him at Ho Chi Minh airport on Sunday night as he was checking in. They questioned him for two hours and took his passport, which had a valid American visa. He was then released.
"I was prepared for the fact that they would ban me from leaving the country as they had prevented many people who dared to promote democracy and human rights in Vietnam," Hieu said by telephone. "By banning those people from leaving the country, the government wants to give a warning to others that they have the authority to decide the fate of all its citizens."
Hieu was flying to the US to receive a Hellman-Hammett award from Human Rights Watch on behalf of his father Huynh Ngoc Tuan and sister Huynh Thuc Vy, who are both prominent bloggers. Each year the group gives cash grants to selected writers for their commitment to free expression in the face of government persecution. Hieu said he was travelling on behalf of his father and sister because they both knew they wouldn't be allowed to leave.
The US is seeking closer ties with Vietnam, in large part because it shares concerns with Hanoi over China's increasing assertiveness in south-east Asia. But it is vocal in its criticism of the country's human rights record, which most observers say is getting worse.
"We are troubled by the intervention of Vietnamese authorities to prevent Huynh Trong Hieu from travelling to the United States," the embassy said in a statement. "We urge the Vietnamese government to lift travel restrictions on Mr Hieu and take steps to allow his family and all Vietnamese to peacefully express their views without fear of retribution."
In a separate case in neighbouring Laos, which like Vietnam is under one-party Communist rule, the respected social activist Sombath Somphone disappeared on Saturday afternoon in the Lao capital, Vientiane. Friends said he had been taken in by police and they last saw him getting into his car to drive home from the development agency he founded.
The US also voiced concern about Sombath's disappearance. State department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the US was urging the Lao government to make an effort to locate him.
Laos has an authoritarian government with little tolerance for dissent, but friends and associates said Sombath's work was not directly political.
An official who answered the phone at the government's press office in Vientiane said: "It's too early to give any information regarding the disappearance because there is not enough evidence to reach a conclusion." The official declined to give his name.
One of Sombath's colleagues in Vientiane said he had seen video showing the activist in police custody in Laos. It was not explained where the video footage came from or under what circumstances it was reviewed.
Sombath, 60, received the Ramon Magsaysay award for community leadership, one of Asia's top civil honours, in 2005. He was director until five months ago of the Participatory Development Training Centre, which he founded in 1996 to promote education and leadership skills.
A statement from Thai NGOs said they had sent a letter of concern to senior officials in Laos and embassies there.
