BLOGGER "MAMA MUSHROOM" RELEASED FROM POLICE CUSTODY

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 000596 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL/WHA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL VM SUBJECT: BLOGGER "MAMA MUSHROOM" RELEASED FROM POLICE CUSTODY REF: Hanoi 926 ¶1. (SBU) Blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, penname "Mama Mushroom" (Me Nam) and member of a group called the Vietnamese Patriots, confirmed to ConGen staff that she was released from police custody on September 12. Quynh was questioned by police on July 20 after printing and distributing T-shirts with anti-Chinese slogans. Her computer was confiscated, and her husband was interrogated by the police about her activities. Quynh was arrested on September 2 (reftel). ¶2. (SBU) Quynh explained that she was released by authorities only after she agreed to sign a pledge to stop blogging and cut "any ties with any group or individuals that opposed the government's policies." Her husband and mother also signed pledges promising to monitor Quynh's blogging and activities. Quynh's release order states that her violation was not serious enough for criminal prosecution, and also took into consideration the fact that she has a 33-month-old daughter. Upon her release, Quynh posted a farewell entry on her blog, stating she was no "hero" and would stop her "activities." ¶3. (SBU) Comment: Coming on the heels of the release of fellow blogger Bui Thanh Hieu and VietNamNet journalist Pham Doan Tran, Quynh's release is welcome news. Nevertheless, her arrest serves as a warning to Vietnam's still-vibrant blog scene of the dangers that can ensue when politically sensitive online commentary is followed by political action, however innocuous that action might seem. Equally telling is the Quynh's own pledge not to continue blogging. FAIRFAX