Vietnam: Exiled journalist sentenced to seven years jail for anti-government reporting

The Hanoi's People's Court sentenced exiled journalist Doan Bao Chau to seven years in prison in absentia, and an additional five-year probationary period, for anti-state reporting under Article 117 of Vietnam's Penal Code on August 3. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) condemns the continued use of Article 117 to quash independent, critical journalism and urges the Vietnamese authorities to end their persecution of Chau.

Vietnamese journalist Doan Bao Chau was sentenced in absentia to 7 years in prison on August 3 for disseminating anti-state reporting. Credit: Facebook

A panel of judges ruled that posts to Chau's personal Facebook account, where he publishes political commentary, breached Article 117 of the Penal Code for "producing, possessing, distributing, or disseminating information, documents, or items aimed at opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." Citing six videos as evidence, state prosecutors found the clips contained "propaganda of psychological-warfare rhetoric," and fabricated commentary that damaged government reputation and caused public panic.

Chau, who is currently in exile in Canada, has been under investigation since May 2024, when the Security Investigation Agency of the Hanoi Police flagged pieces of his personal content and his participation in a 'BBC Vitenamese' live stream on YouTube for spreading disinformation and opposing the state. Chau, who previously worked as a freelance photographer for the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse, and as a New York Times reporter, fled Vietnam in July of 2025 after authorities searched his home when laying the initial charges, and remains in exile in Canda.

On the day of the trial, Chau rejected the conviction on social media, stating his posts reflected "the right of a reporter to seek out the truth, and the right of a citizen to offer constructive views for a better society."

IFJ has monitored the ongoing use of national security legislation in Vietnam, including Article 117, to limit press freedom and criminalise independent and digital journalism. Chau's sentence follows escalated media suppression and recent legislation changes, including an amendment to the press law which granted The Ministry of Public Security power to seize the information of journalistic sources, and amendments to the Law on the Protection of State Secrets that expand topics constituted as 'anti-state' by broadening the definition of 'state secrets.' Vietnam is one of the world's worst jailers of journalists, with 37 media workers in prison as of December 2025, according to IFJ documentation

The IFJ said, "The sentencing of Doan Bao Chau is yet another example of Vietnamese authorities consistently co-opting Article 117 to prohibit independent journalists from holding power to account. The IFJ calls for an end to the targeted persecution of Chau and the immediate appeal of his conviction."