Vietnam strips accreditation from journalists

The Lao Dong newspaper reported on its Web site that the seven had been stripped of their official accreditation by the country's information ministry for "serious violations" of the laws on press activities.

Four of the seven work for the Thanh Nien and Tuoi Tre newspapers -- dailies that extensively covered corruption in a transport ministry infrastructure unit, known as the PMU 18 scandal, in late 2005.

Officials in the unit allegedly embezzled funds and gambled much of the money on football matches. The scandal broke ahead of a five yearly party congress in 2006 and led to the resignation of Vietnam's transport minister.

That coverage resulted in the detention in May of two journalists for "abuse of power", which sparked an unusual outcry from the country's tightly controlled media. Both remain in custody.

The report did not say what the four journalists from the two prominent newspapers were alleged to have done.

Two of the other journalists stripped of their press cards, who work for a specialized publication on the elderly, were under investigation for embezzlement and gross negligence, the Lao Dong report said.

Allegations against the seventh journalist, who works for a science publication, were not explained.

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