Vietnam frees dissident jailed for spying early

A prominent Vietnamese dissident and pro-democracy activist, Pham Hong Son, has been released early from jail.

Son, 37, was freed several months before the end of a five-year prison term for spying.

His release came under an annual presidential amnesty of thousands of inmates to mark National Day on September 2.

His wife, Vu Thuy Ha, said he had returned to his home in Hanoi.

Son, a businessman and trained doctor, was arrested in March 2002, a few weeks after he posted an essay about democracy on the internet.

He was sentenced to 13 years jail in 2003, but the sentence was reduced to five years on appeal.

Son's release follows diplomatic pressure on Vietnam to improve its human rights record as the communist country prepares to join the World Trade Organisation later this year.

- RADIO AUSTRALIA