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Freed Vietnam blogger Nguyen Van Hai flies to US Freed Vietnam blogger Nguyen Van Hai flies to US
(about 3 hours later)
Prominent Vietnamese dissident blogger Nguyen Van Hai has been released from prison and has flown to the US.Prominent Vietnamese dissident blogger Nguyen Van Hai has been released from prison and has flown to the US.
Also known by his pen name Dieu Cay, Mr Hai was sentenced to 12 years for conducting anti-state propaganda in September 2012.Also known by his pen name Dieu Cay, Mr Hai was sentenced to 12 years for conducting anti-state propaganda in September 2012.
US State Department spokesman Marie Harf welcomed the release of "this prisoner of conscience" and said he had "decided himself" to leave Vietnam.US State Department spokesman Marie Harf welcomed the release of "this prisoner of conscience" and said he had "decided himself" to leave Vietnam.
The US has previously called on Hanoi to release political prisoners. The US has previously called on Hanoi to release all political prisoners.
Mr Hai's former wife Duong Thi Tan told Radio Free Asia that Mr Hai was taken straight from jail to the airport and put on a plane to the US. She said the family was not informed prior to his release. Mr Hai's former wife Duong Thi Tan told Radio Free Asia that he was taken straight from jail to the airport and put on a plane to the US. She said the family was not informed prior to his release.
Mr Hai was mobbed by dozens of supporters upon landing in Los Angeles. "This is a result of the victory of democratic values," he said in remarks reported by AFP.
"This is the most effective message that we can convey to other political prisoners who are still now in communist prisons... that they are not alone."
Mr Hai, a former soldier, had co-founded the Independent Journalists' Club in 2007.Mr Hai, a former soldier, had co-founded the Independent Journalists' Club in 2007.
He covered politically sensitive issues, including government corruption and protests against China, according to the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, which said he had been in solitary confinement and waged a hunger strike.He covered politically sensitive issues, including government corruption and protests against China, according to the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers, which said he had been in solitary confinement and waged a hunger strike.
He was first arrested in 2008, before he was convicted in 2012 for disseminating anti-state information and materials along with two other bloggers. He was first arrested in 2008, and was convicted in 2012 for disseminating anti-state information and materials along with two other bloggers.
Mr Hai has consistently denied the charges. The bloggers' cases were adopted by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which criticised Vietnamese authorities for curbing freedom of expression.Mr Hai has consistently denied the charges. The bloggers' cases were adopted by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which criticised Vietnamese authorities for curbing freedom of expression.
Dozens of bloggers, journalists and human rights activists have been jailed in recent years for anti-state activities. All newspapers and television channels in Vietnam are state-run. All newspapers and television channels in Vietnam are state-run and strictly regulated.
Dozens of bloggers, journalists and human rights activists have been jailed in recent years for anti-state activities.
The most recent case saw blogger Pham Viet Dao imprisoned for writing critical posts about the government and the territorial row with China.The most recent case saw blogger Pham Viet Dao imprisoned for writing critical posts about the government and the territorial row with China.