US citizen deported from Vietnam

Foshee had spent over a year in prison before her trial

A US citizen recently jailed on terrorism charges in Vietnam has been deported from the country after being released early on health grounds.

Nguyen Thuong "Cuc" Foshee was among three US nationals and four Vietnamese to be jailed for 15 months on Friday.

The seven were found guilty of trying to broadcast anti-communist messages.

Vietnam is in the world spotlight at the moment, as it prepares to host the leaders of 21 Asia-Pacific nations for their annual summit later this week.

US President George W Bush is due to arrive in the country on Friday.

The US-based rights group Human Rights Watch accused Vietnam over the weekend of detaining homeless children, to improve the appearance of the capital, Hanoi, for visitors.

Illegal broadcasts

Ms Foshee had already been in prison for 14 months before her trial.

But she was released four weeks early, reportedly after she wrote to the authorities asking to return to her family for medical care.

A court official told the Associated Press that she suffered from high blood pressure and heart problems.

Her brother told reporters that he had taken her to Ho Chi Minh City airport as soon as she was released, for a flight to the United States.

Local press reports have linked the seven defendants to a California-based anti-communist organisation called the Government of Free Vietnam.

They are said to have brought transmitters and other equipment into Vietnam from neighbouring Cambodia.

They were hoping to take over local radio stations and broadcast anti-government radio messages, according to the BBC's correspondent in Hanoi, Bill Hayton.

The charges carried punishments ranging from up to 12 years jail to execution, but prosecutors said their more lenient sentences reflected the fact the defendants had repented and had no previous criminal records.