Vietnam deports US citizen accused of ‘anti-state’ plot
31 Jan 2013 5:50 AM IST
Vietnamese authorities have deported an American pro-democracy activist after detaining him for nine months on charges of attempting to overthrow the state, state media reported on Wednesday.
Nguyen Quoc Quan, who is of Vietnamese origin and is a member of the US-based Viet Tan Party – which Hanoi views as a terrorist organisation – was arrested on 17 April last year when he arrived in Vietnam.
Quan, 59, also known as Richard Nguyen, was due to go on trial earlier this month, Viet Tan told AFP at the time, but the proceedings were cancelled without an official explanation.
‘Vietnam has expelled Nguyen Quoc Quan, who is an American citizen,’ according to an online report on Vietnam News Agency late Wednesday.
‘Quan admitted his crimes, asking for leniency so that he could go back to the United States and be with his family,’ the report said, without adding further details. Quan’s lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment.
State media had said Quan travelled to the communist country ‘to instigate a demonstration and undermine celebrations’ of the fall of the US-backed southern regime on April 30, which heralded the end of a decades-long conflict.
Nguyen Quoc Quan, who is of Vietnamese origin and is a member of the US-based Viet Tan Party – which Hanoi views as a terrorist organisation – was arrested on 17 April last year when he arrived in Vietnam.
Quan, 59, also known as Richard Nguyen, was due to go on trial earlier this month, Viet Tan told AFP at the time, but the proceedings were cancelled without an official explanation.
‘Vietnam has expelled Nguyen Quoc Quan, who is an American citizen,’ according to an online report on Vietnam News Agency late Wednesday.
‘Quan admitted his crimes, asking for leniency so that he could go back to the United States and be with his family,’ the report said, without adding further details. Quan’s lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment.
State media had said Quan travelled to the communist country ‘to instigate a demonstration and undermine celebrations’ of the fall of the US-backed southern regime on April 30, which heralded the end of a decades-long conflict.
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