FREED

‘Mother Mushroom’ Blogger Released From Vietnamese Prison

The activist was serving a 10-year prison sentence after being accused of “conducting propaganda against the state.”

In a rare early release, blogger and activist Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, also known as “Mother Mushroom,” was freed from prison in Vietnam Wednesday during Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ visit to the country. Quynh, an outspoken critic of Vietnam’s government, was arrested in 2016 following accusations that she was “conducting propaganda against the state.” The blogger, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison, had written about corruption, land appropriation, and pollution. Quynh was freed from prison Wednesday and is reportedly on her way to the U.S. “It’s good news but also sad news, that they exile human rights defenders as a precondition for their release,” said Martin Gemzell, Asia program director for Civil Rights Defenders, a group based in Sweden. After her trial, Quynh stood by her writing, stating, “I hope that everyone will speak up and fight, overcome their own fears to build a better country.”