Vietnamese asylum seekers whose boat was turned back in June by Australian officials have been punished with jail terms in Vietnam.

A Melbourne based Vietnamese advocate from the Voice Australia group told ABC News that one organiser of the boat trip was facing a minimum jail term of seven years, even though she did not profit from the trip.

Australian border officials also turned back two Vietnamese boats last year, each carrying 46 asylum seekers.

The Voice Australia advocate said five of these asylum seekers were now in jail, or facing jail terms.

He said some of those fleeing were economic refugees and others were farmers whose land had been confiscated.

Under Vietnamese law, it is illegal to organise a trip to flee the country.

– TiVi Tuan-san