Vietnam’s most prominent environmental activist, Nguy Thi Khanhhas been was released by surprise five months before serving her 21-month prison sentence for tax evasionas reported by herself on her social networks.

“Endless happiness to be back with the love of my family, to meet and hug my loved ones after 16 months in isolationKhanh said on his Facebook profile, also thanking the support he received while behind bars.

Khanh, 47, He had been in prison since his preventive arrest in February last year and in June she was sentenced to two years in prison, eventually reduced to 21 months, for tax fraud.

The activist did not explain the reasons for her early releasenor have they been exposed in the official Vietnamese press, which has barely reported it.

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Winner of the prestigious Goldman Prize in 2018 Before her work as director of the GreenID organization, her imprisonment had become a symbol of the communist regime in Hanoi’s recent persecution of environmental activists.

Several international organizations and countries, including the US State Department, have called for the activist’s release in recent months.

More than 50 winners of the Goldman Prize, considered the Nobel Prize for the environment, last September asked the UN Human Rights Council to demand Khanh’s release in exchange for including Vietnam in the body.

A recent report by the human rights organization Project 88 concluded that Vietnam has bended the laws in its favor to find reasons to jail Khanh and other activists who have challenged the authorities’ environmental decisions.