Oct. 6, 2025- An international coalition of human rights groups, including Reporters without Borders (RSF), PEN America, PEN International, and the Committee to Protect Journalists, is marking the fifth anniversary of the arrest of prominent Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang by urging the global community to increase pressure on Việt Nam for her release.
Trang, 47, is being held in harsh conditions nearly 1,000 miles away from her family, making visits from her elderly mother almost impossible. According to the coalition, her health has worsened in prison, where she suffers from a disability resulting from a 2015 police assault, as well as the lingering effects of a COVID-19 infection.
In their joint statement, the #FreePhamDoanTrang coalition declared: “Despite the heavy sentence handed down to Pham Doan Trang, the Vietnamese regime will not be able to erase her fight for press freedom and the right to information in Vietnam… It is high time the international community stepped up pressure on Hanoi to secure her release.”
A celebrated author and founder of the online magazines Luat Khoa and The Vietnamese, Trang was arrested at her home on October 6, 2020. After being held incommunicado for more than a year, she was sentenced to nine years in prison for “anti-state propaganda,” a charge frequently used to silence dissent.
Her recent imprisonment is the culmination of years of state repression. Between 2015 and 2020 alone, she endured roughly 20 temporary detentions. In one 26-hour detention in May 2016, she was prevented from attending a meeting with then-U.S. President Barack Obama.
The coalition’s statement describes Trang’s case as symbolic of Việt Nam’s broader crackdown on press freedom, noting the country’s rank of 173rd out of 180 in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index.
A recipient of numerous international accolades, including awards from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the U.S. State Department, Trang’s work continues to receive global recognition. The renewed calls for her freedom come as she is set to be honored with PEN Sweden’s 2025 Tucholsky Prize for her “devoted writing and her tireless struggle for freedom of speech and democracy in Vietnam.” The prize is scheduled to be awarded on Nov. 15, 2025, “Imprisoned Authors’ Day.”
The coalition is urging the international community to demand her immediate and unconditional release, along with guarantees for her safety and access to independent medical care.