ICC Note:

A Catholic activist and blogger who is serving time in Vietnam’s prison has been awarded the International Women of Courage Award by the US State Department. She is being held for her advocacy work for prisoners of conscience and for speaking out against the state. The award honors, “those who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in acting to advance the lives of others across the globe.”

3/31/2017 Vietnam (UCA News) – A jailed Vietnamese Catholic blogger was awarded by the U.S. government for standing up for people’s rights and freedom.

On March 29, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, a blogger known as Me Nam or Mother Mushroom, was among 13 women who received the International Women of Courage Award by the U.S. State Department which honors “those who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength and leadership in acting to advance the lives of others across the globe.”

Quynh, a mother of two, was the only winner awarded in absentia because she has been held incommunicado since October 2016 for publishing anti-government writings and fighting for prisoners of conscience.

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