Human Rights Watch accuses Vietnamese government of "flouting its international commitments on human rights" after the recent arrests of two human rights lawyers and a Catholic priest.

Human Rights Watch has expressed alarm over what it calls "one of the worst crackdowns" in 20 years by the Vietnamese government on peaceful dissidents, including a Catholic priest and other Christians.

The organisation sharply condemned the recent arrests of two outspoken human rights lawyers and a dissident Catholic priest, and said the Vietnamese government now felt "emboldened by international recognition" after joining the World Trade Organisations and hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

On February 18, dozens of police in Hue raided the parish home of Father Nguyen Van Ly, a Catholic priest and former prisoner of conscience. They confiscated computers, telephones and more than 200 kilograms of documents. The authorities moved him to a remote location, where he remains under house arrest.

Father Ly is one of the founders of "Block 8406," a democracy movement launched in April 2006 when hundreds of people throughout Vietnam signed public petitions calling for democracy and human rights.