Vietnam frees American activist after 9 months

HANOI, Vietnam Vietnamese authorities have released and deported a Vietnamese-American activist detained since April on accusations of conspiring to overthrow the government.

A Foreign Ministry statement says Nguyen Quoc Quan had "confessed to his crime" and asked for leniency to be reunited with his family.

He was arrested in April and released Wednesday.

Authorities originally accused him of terrorism, but later downgraded the charges to subversion.

The United States has been calling on Vietnam to release Quan, 59, who supporters say is a nonviolent advocate of democratic reforms in Vietnam.