HANOI – Vietnam confirmed on Sunday the arrest of an energy policy think tank director, the sixth expert working on environmental issues to be taken into custody in the last two years.
A rights group reported in September that Ms Ngo Thi To Nhien, executive director of the Hanoi-based Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition, had been detained – although at the time there was no official confirmation.
Ms Nhien is a researcher who has worked with a number of international organisations, including the World Bank, the European Union, the United Nations and the Asian Development Bank.
On Sunday, state media reported the police had issued an arrest warrant on Sept 20 over charges of “appropriating documents”.
According to the country’s criminal code, she could face up to five years in prison.
“After Ngo Thi To Nhien was arrested, a number of foreign media agencies and a number of exiled reactionary organisations reported the news, distorting and slandering that Vietnam arrested environmental activists,” government spokesman To An Xo said on Saturday, state media reported.
“Regarding this, the Ministry of Public Security rejected the above distorted allegations and considered it an act of interference in Vietnam’s internal affairs.”
Two other people were also arrested.
Ms Nhien was working on the implementation plan for Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition Partnership, a US$15-billion (S$20.5 billion) G-7-funded project to help wean Vietnam off fossil fuels, according to freedom of expression group The 88 Project in September.
Confirmation of Ms Nhien’s arrest comes only days after Vietnam jailed leading climate activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong for tax evasion, provoking international criticism.
The country has committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, and a group of rich nations in 2022 pledged to raise at least US$15.5 billion to help get the nation off fossil fuels.
But the government tolerates no opposition to one-party rule, with critics facing intimidation, harassment and restricted movement, and it has shown little appetite for dissenting voices on environmental issues. AFP
