October 21, 2010
AN Australian woman jailed in Vietnam for 10 days after joining a peaceful protest says it will be very difficult for her to ever return to the land of her birth.
Hong Vo, a 53-year-old social worker from Melbourne, was arrested on October 10 after handing out leaflets in opposition to China's "threat" to Vietnam.
She was charged with terrorism offences and thrown into jail without access to a lawyer, but was released after the intervention of the Australian Consulate in Vietnam yesterday evening.
Mrs Vo was greeted at Melbourne Airport, clutching her Australian passport, by her two sons and members of the Viet Tan, a pro-democracy organisation of which she is a member.
Mrs Vo said she had done nothing wrong.
"We are all non-violent," she said.
"I was kept out from the whole world.
"It's not something that I've ever experienced."
Mrs Vo said she was devastated at her expulsion from Vietnam.
"I should be free to enter the country as often as I wish."
Mrs Vo said she intends to continue her work fighting for Vietnam, in a long-running dispute with China over the sovereignty of the Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea.
No comments:
Post a Comment