Vietnamese energy expert Ngô Thị Tố Nhiên was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison late last month, according to the International Federation for Human Rights. Vietnam’s government has not made any recent public announcement regarding Nhiên’s case or the apparent sentencing. Nhiên, executive director of the Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition Social Enterprise (VIETSE), has been detained since September 2023, when she was arrested on charges of “appropriating internal documents” related to Vietnam Electricity, the country’s state-owned power monopoly. “Her charge of ‘appropriation of information or documents’ relates to information on Vietnam’s electricity grids to support research aimed at increasing the share of renewables in the power mix,” Tanya Lee Roberts-Davis, convener of the Vietnam Climate Defenders Coalition, told Mongabay in an email. “It indicates that authorities in Vietnam are using criminal sanctions to restrict access to information on the energy transition.” Nhiên had previously worked for the government and collaborated with international organizations including the United Nations and World Bank on Vietnam’s $15.5 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership. The arrest was part of a broader crackdown on advocates and experts working in the energy and environment spaces. Dương Đức Việt and Lê Quốc Anh, two government officials working as consultants for VIETSE, were also arrested and charged alongside Nhiên, though details about sentences in their cases have not emerged publicly. Journalists and activists in May, 2017, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Fifth from left in the front is activist Hoàng Thị Hồng, who is currently in prison. Image…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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