"EU, Rights Groups Call on Vietnam to Release Blogger 'Mother Mushroom'", 1 December 2017

Foreign governments and international rights groups reacted strongly…to a Vietnamese court’s…confirmation of the 10-year prison term…on jailed blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, calling the rejection of her appeal a violation of the due process guaranteed by international agreements and by Vietnam’s own laws.

Quynh...criticized the government’s response to a 2016 toxic waste spill by the Taiwan-owned Formosa Plastics Group that destroyed the livelihoods of tens of thousands of Vietnamese living in four coastal provinces.

Authorities’ interference with Quynh’s legal team and refusal to allow EU representatives to observe the court’s hearing of Quynh’s appeal raise “questions as to the transparency of the process,”….

…Human Rights Watch Asia director Brad Adams saying the blogger’s only crime had been “to speak her mind and fight for human rights.”

“The Vietnamese government should address her concerns, including freedom of speech, a clean environment, and the end of police brutality, instead of punishing her for trying to improve her country.”