Vietnam leader’s UK visit overshadowed by ‘interrogation’ of BBC journalist
BBC journalist ‘interrogated’ in Vietnam as country’s leader visits UK
- A BBC journalist has allegedly been barred from leaving Vietnam, had her passport seized and was subjected to multiple days of interrogation.
- The journalist returned to Vietnam in August to renew her passport and has since been unable to depart, with authorities withholding her reissued passport and questioning her about her work.
- Friends of the journalist, who is a Vietnamese citizen based in Thailand, are urging the British government to pressure Vietnam's Communist Party general secretary To Lam during his official visit to the UK to secure her release.
- Human rights campaigners suggest the intense interrogation, focusing on 18 articles published by the journalist, could be a precursor to an arrest, potentially delayed due to To Lam's visit.
- The UK Foreign Office has expressed concern about the harassment of journalists and activists in Vietnam, a country ranked 173rd out of 180 for press freedom by Reporters Without Borders.