Vietnam's arrest of reformist labor official could disturb bid for better trade terms with the US
Police in Vietnam say they have arrested a senior official of the country’s labor ministry for “deliberately disclosing state secrets.”
BANGKOK (AP) — A senior Vietnamese official with the country’s labor ministry was arrested for "deliberately disclosing state secrets,” police announced on Thursday, a development that analysts say could hurt Vietnam’s efforts to obtain more favorable trade terms for exports to the United States.
There were no further details about lawyer Nguyen Van Binh's arrest — beyond the announcement on the website of the police in the capital of Hanoi — but rights activists allege he was detained because he supported the idea of independent trade unions, banned under the Communist government.
They also say it’s a sign of continuing repression, which was previously directed mainly toward bloggers, environmentalists and civil society groups.
Binh who headed the Legal Affairs Department at the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, could face between two and 15 years in prison for disclosing state secrets under the law in this single-party, authoritarian state.
