Germany alarmed by detention of Vietnam climate activist, warns on coal phase-out pact with Hanoi

By FRANK JORDANS
Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — The German government says it is concerned by the recent detention of a prominent environmental campaigner in Vietnam. It warned that a recent multi-billion-dollar deal to help the country phase out coal use requires the involvement of civil society activists. The U.N. Human Rights Office says the activist was detained by police in Ho Chi Minh City last week and held on a temporary order charged with tax evasion. The U.N. says she is the fifth prominent environmental activist arrested in Vietnam for alleged tax evasion in the last two years. Germany’s Foreign Ministry says the arrests of Hoang and others “are an alarming signal for civil society actors across the country, as well as for environmental and climate protection.”