VIETNAM: Repression of environmental protests

Vietnam is a one-party state where the ruling party strongly restricts the freedom of expression, including online expression, and ruling party and army figures are tightly enmeshed in big economic development projects that come with major environmental impacts. In recent years, several prominent bloggers have been jailed for calling out the environment repercussions of these state-led projects. In January, in Dong Tam village the police carried out an operation against residents who had been protesting against the granting of a lease of land to a military-owned telecoms company. The police reported that they had experienced violence, and in the violent clashes three police officers and the village leader, Le Dinh Kinh, were killed.