HANOI - VIETNAM has expelled a prominent lawyer from the Ho Chi Minh City Bar after he was arrested for allegedly colluding with hostile forces to sabotage the country, the bar said on Tuesday.

Le Cong Dinh, 41, had previously defended two human rights attorneys. He was arrested earlier this month at his home in Ho Chi Minh City and accused of violating Article 88 of Vietnam's Penal Code, which prohibits distributing information harmful to the government.

Authorities believe Mr Dinh colluded with domestic and foreign reactionaries to sabotage the state, according to state media.

The Ho Chi Minh Bar said on its Web site that it expelled Mr Dinh from the association for 'breaking laws and violating lawyers' ethics.' He was vice president of the association from 2005 to 2008.

Mr Dinh, one of Vietnam's most high-profile attorneys, came to prominence several years ago when he defended Vietnamese catfish farmers in a trade dispute with US fishermen. He also represented two human rights attorneys, Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thi Cong Nhan, who were jailed by the government in 2007 for allegedly spreading anti-government propaganda.

The US State Department has called for Mr Dinh's immediate release, and human rights groups have criticised his arrest. -- AP