American Arrested In Vietnam 'regrets' Breaking Law

Hanoi, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Jun, 2018 ) :An American student held in Vietnam for "causing public disorder" at violent protests this month has appeared on state television to say he regrets breaking the law and will stay away from future rallies.

William Nguyen was detained on June 10 in Ho Chi Minh City after attending mass demonstrations against proposed special economic zones that would grant investors 99-year leases.

Video footage shows the Texas-born 32-year-old with a bleeding head wound being dragged by plainclothes men through the streets into custody.

Police accuse Nguyen of "causing public disorder" and trying to damage a fence and flip over police vehicles on the main road to the airport.

Nguyen, a Yale graduate, appeared on television on Monday night to say he broke the law.

"I understand that my acts violated (the law)... I regret that I caused trouble for people heading to the airport. I blocked traffic and caused trouble to my family and friends," Nguyen said in Vietnamese on HTV in footage provided by city police.

"I will not join any anti-state activities any more," added Nguyen, who was arrested while passing through Vietnam en route to Singapore to get his Masters degree next month.

Choreographed confessions are common in Vietnam where accused criminals are paraded publicly to admit guilt -- sometimes in exchange for a softer sentence -- though rights groups have also accused the one-party state of forcibly extracting statements.