The US State Department Sunday shared its “deep concern” over the two-year prison sentence of Vietnamese activist Nguyễn Thúy Hạnh.

Nguyễn, the founder of the Green Innovation and Development Centre and Vietnam’s first recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize, was detained and arrested on two occasions in 2021 for violating Article 117 of Vietnam’s Criminal Code on charges of initiating propaganda against the state.

Last week the Hanoi People’s Court sentenced Nguyễn to two years imprisonment on charges of tax evasion. Nguyễn’s sentence came after the imprisonment of three other activists, Dang Dinh Bach, Bach Hung Duong and Mai Phan Loi, who activists raised dissenting opinions against the Vietnamese government’s coal policies.

The State Department called for Vietnam’s Government to release Nguyễn with the other detained environmental activists. Michael Sutton, Executive Director of the Goldman Environmental Foundation, also shared his concerns. He said “She’s done everything to help Vietnam achieve its own goals… [and] we’re concerned about what this says for the future of and the success of Vietnam’s stated energy ambitions.”

Several others, including Goldman Environment and other organizations, also called for the release of Nguyễn.