The government of Vietnam has criticised a group representing newspapers around the world for giving an award earlier this week to an imprisoned, dissident Vietnamese reporter.

The Vietnamese foreign ministry said the award by the World Association of Newspapers to Doan Viet Hoat was a mistake which would not be supported by public opinion in Vietnam.

Doan Viet Hoat, who is serving a fifteen-year sentence for publishing a newsletter advocating greater democracy in Vietnam "Dien Dan Tu Do" or "Freedom Forum" was honoured for his commitment to a free press.