Two Vietnamese activists who the administration of Vice President Joe Biden feels were wrongfully jailed by the Communist government of their country will be relocating to the United States under an arrangement that was struck before the most recent visit that the President of the United States made to Hanoi, according to officials from the United States who spoke with Reuters.

One of the authorities stated that a human rights lawyer who pushed for accountability for police violations and a Catholic parishioner evicted from his home were leaving Vietnam for the United States with their families. The lawyer and parishioner were both removed from their homes.
The families are expected to apply for resettlement in the “Priority 1” refugee program offered by the United States of America. The activists were not locked up but were not allowed to leave Vietnam under any circumstances.

One of the officials said that Vietnam’s government signed a private agreement to make progress on religious freedom, non-governmental organization (NGO) operations, prison conditions, and labor laws. In addition, Vietnam’s government agreed to release two imprisoned Vietnamese activists the United States sought before Vice President Biden’s visit last week. A United States official provided this information.

The details of the private deal, which Reuters did not independently investigate before publishing, were not previously discussed in the media. During a tour in which Biden praised the nation’s ambition of becoming a high-tech leader, they were signed as Vietnam decided to lift Washington to Hanoi’s highest diplomatic status alongside China and Russia. This took place at the same time that the agreements were signed.

The accords come at a time when the administration of Vice President Joe Biden is under criticism over its diplomacy with Vietnam, India, and Saudi Arabia, the governments of which prohibit the political liberties that are enjoyed in the West, as well as criticism over its negotiations with Iran regarding a prisoner exchange.
Among the Vietnamese inmates was a legal expert emphasizing religion who was eventually deported to Germany. Another prisoner was imprisoned for tax evasion in connection with his non-governmental organization.

The officials refused to provide the identities of any of the four people, claiming diplomatic and security concerns as the reason; nevertheless, the names of the two former inmates are public knowledge. At the beginning of this month, a legal advocate named Nguyen Bac Truyen confirmed his release and his trip to Germany with his wife. At the beginning of this month, it was also confirmed that independent journalist Mai Phan Loi will be freed.

“REPRESENTATIVES OF A MUCH LATER AND MUCH LARGER GROUP”
The human rights community in Vietnam views the situation as extremely dangerous.

Human Rights Watch reported earlier this month that Vietnam is now detaining 22 individuals and keeping at least 159 political detainees. According to the advocacy group, in 2018, they rolled out lengthy prison sentences to 15 individuals without giving them a fair trial.

According to those acquainted with the plans, Vietnam is also working on new regulations limiting the freedom of expression online. One of these regulations would prohibit social media users who upload content linked to the news without being registered as journalists.

“It’s outrageous that President Biden chose to upgrade diplomatic ties with Vietnam at a time when the one-party state is in the middle of a brutal crackdown on activism, dissent, and civil society,” said Ben Swanton, co-director of Project 88, a rights organization centered on Vietnam. “It’s outrageous that President Biden chose to upgrade diplomatic ties with Vietnam at a time when the one-party state is in the middle of a brutal crackdown on activism,”

Before a visit by a president, Vietnam will frequently free political prisoners. According to one of the U.S. sources, officials from the Biden administration pushed for the exit visas as an additional step during final talks over the joint statement and trip details. They saw this as an opportunity to strengthen their position.

The individuals are “representative of a much larger group that we believe should be free,” the official from the United States stated.

“While we regret that we were unable to bring a much larger number of people out in advance of the president’s visit, we do believe that this increased partnership and the strengthened relationship provides us with the vehicles and the processes we need to continue working on these issues with our friends in Vietnam.”

Both in the annual rights dialogues with the Vietnamese, which some rights activists and officials have criticized as being nothing more than an insubstantial exchange of talking points, and in the ongoing talks between the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Vietnamese counterpart, Bui Thanh Son, officials from the United States have expressed their hope that these conversations will take place.