A Vietnamese court fined and ordered the deportation of U.S. citizen William Nguyen for participating in a rare protest in the tightly controlled communist nation.
The court found Friday that Mr. Nguyen had disturbed public order, an offense that can carry seven years in prison. Vietnamese nationals arrested on similar charges have received far harsher sentences.
The U.S. had lobbied hard for Mr. Nguyen’s release, and the case had strained ties between two countries that have been working more closely together to counter China’s rising influence in the region. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had raised the case during a visit July 8 and 9, and more than 30 U.S. lawmakers also weighed in.
The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam said it was pleased with the resolution. “The United States has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens,” said spokesman James Thrower.
Mr. Nguyen wasn’t immediately available for comment. His sister Victoria Nguyen, who had spearheaded a public campaign for his release and was in Vietnam for the trial, posted “WILL IS FREE!!!!!” on Twitter early Friday morning. Mr. Nguyen’s family, originally from Vietnam, moved to Houston a few years after the war ended in 1975.
Local media said Mr. Nguyen had been ordered to leave Vietnam immediately.
Mr. Nguyen, a Yale graduate in his early 30s, was arrested during a June 10 protest against plans for special economic zones that would give long-term land leases to foreigners. Demonstrators said they could allow Chinese firms to encroach on Vietnamese territory.
Mr. Nguyen posted protest updates, including photographs, on his social-media account before his arrest by plainclothes officers. Video footage shows him, face covered in blood, being dragged away with other alleged protesters by masked men, before one of them strikes him and another pulls an orange sack over his head.
Days later, Mr. Nguyen appeared on state television to deliver a confession that rights groups said was likely coerced.
“I regret that I caused trouble for people heading to the airport,” he said. “I blocked traffic and caused trouble to my family and friends. I will not join any antistate activities any more.”
Last year a Vietnamese blogger was sentenced to 10 years in prison for content posted on her Facebook page, while in March this year a prominent Vietnamese singer and free-speech campaigner was held for several hours at Hanoi’s international airport before being released.
Authorities remain wary of U.S. influence; the singer had met then-President Barack Obama during his visit to Vietnam in 2016, and Vietnamese pro-democracy groups banned in the country have found members and support in the U.S.
A cybersecurity law that took effect last month requires U.S.-based internet companies such as Facebook and Google to store their Vietnam-based users’ data on servers in the country, which critics said could make it easier for the state to track down critics.
Write to Jake Maxwell Watts at jake.watts@wsj.com