#FreePhamDoanTrang: RSF, international coalition call for Vietnamese journalist’s release on 5th anniversary of her arrest

It has been half a decade since Pham Doan Trang, founder of the online magazines Luat Khoaand The Vietnamese, was arrestedat her home in Ho Chi Minh City, in South Vietnam. An investigative journalist and laureate of the 2019 RSF Prize for Impact, she was held incommunicado for over a year and, in December 2021, sentencedto nine years in prison for "anti-state propaganda," a vague charge commonly used by the Vietnamese regime to silence journalists.

Since the conviction, Trang's prison conditions have worsened. In October 2022, she was transferred to a facility nearly 1,000 miles from her family home, making it nearly impossible for her 85-year-old mother to visit. Trang has suffered several health issues while imprisoned, including an ongoing disability resulting from an assault by police in 2015 that left her with broken legs.

Abuse against an award-winning journalist

Trang, a recipient of the 2022 U.S. State Department International Women of Courage Award, is the author of investigative journalism and human rights books that challenge authoritarianism and promote civic empowerment. Her last book, published before her arrest, exposed a police massacre near Hanoi. Her media outlets cover legal and political issues, helping Vietnamese citizens understand the country's laws and defend their rights.

Born in 1978 in Hanoi, Trang has faced continuous state repressionfor her activism. Between 2015 and 2020, she endured roughly 20 temporary detentions, including a 26-hour detention in May 2016 that prevented her from attending a meeting with then-US President Barack Obama.

In addition to engaging with governments and international institutions, RSF has also called on the public to take action by signing a petition demanding Pham Doan Trang's immediate release.

Pham Doan Trang's case is emblematic of the Vietnamese regime's repression against journalists and writers, part of an escalating crackdown on the right to information. The country ranks 173rd out of 180 in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Indexand is among the world's leading jailers of journalists, with at least 27 currently detained.