Legality of Vietnamese Blogger’s Release QuestionedVocabulary and Expressionsp

Legality of Vietnamese Blogger’s Release Questioned
   This week, the Vietnamese government released one of the country’s best known political bloggers from prison. The government then sent the man, Nguyen Van Hai, to the United States. His release has been widely welcomed. But the legality of the move has raised questions.
   A crowd of supporters welcomed him as he arrived Wednesday in California. Hai was sentenced to 12 years in prison for directing "propaganda against the state. " Two other bloggers also received jail sentences at the trial.
   Many Vietnamese have welcomed his release. But his lawyer says the government had no legal reason to expel him from the country. Ha Huy Son represented the blogger. He said under Vietnamese law, officials can release a person only after he has served more than half their sentence or admitted to a crime and asked for mercy
   His son says his father was put in jail illegally, and Vietnamese officials did not give his father any papers explaining why he was in jail. In his words, this shows what is happening in Vietnam right now. "People can be caught any time" the government wants "for any reason. "
   Nguyen Van Hai was sentenced to two and one-half years in prison for failing to pay taxes. Government critics say the tax evasion charges were made for political reasons. After serving the sentence, he reportedly stayed in prison while Vietnamese officials carried out an investigation.
   The United States was among several foreign governments to call for his release. Reports say the temporary suspension of Hai’s sentence was a result of negotiations with U. S. officials over the partial lifting on the American arms ban on Vietnam.
   Rights groups have welcomed the release. But an official with one such group warned it does not mean a change in Vietnamese policy.
   Phil Robertson is the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. In his words, " Dieu Cay’s many readers will not read his blog from the U. S. . But that doesn’t change the fact that other bloggers who take his place in Vietnam will still face the same systemic police harassment and abuses as he did. "