Pham Doan TRANG
Image Credit: Paul Mooney
An author, journalist, and pro-democracy activist, Pham Doan Trang remained in prison at the end of 2025, continuing to serve a nine-year sentence for ‘spreading propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’ (see Case Lists 2020-2025).
Trang was detained on 6 October 2020 during a raid on her Ho Chi Minh City apartment, carried out by police in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security. During her detention, she was denied access to legal counsel and adequate medical care for over a year and was only granted permission to meet with her lawyer on 19 October 2021.
Trang’s ill-treatment is particularly concerning given her pre-existing health conditions, including low blood pressure and chronic pain from severe leg injuries sustained during a 2015 police assault.
On 25 October 2021, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found Trang’s detention to be arbitrary and called for her immediate release. Despite this, Vietnamese authorities sentenced her on 14 December 2021 to nine years’ imprisonment under Article 88 of the 1999 Penal Code. Her appeal was rejected by the Hanoi People's High Court on 25 August 2022. In October 2022, Trang was transferred to a prison approximately 100 km north of Ho Chi Minh City, further limiting family visits and access to legal support.
Born on 27 May 1978, Pham Doan Trang has published numerous works, including Chính trị bình dân (Popular Politics, 2018), Cẩm nang nuôi tù (Handbook on Supporting Prisoners, 2019), and Phản kháng phi bạo lực (Non-Violent Opposition, 2019). She has also written extensively online through her blog and on social media to circumvent state censorship of traditional media and raise awareness of human rights issues in Vietnam.
Trang’s work has been widely recognised internationally. She is the recipient of the Reporters Without Borders 2019 Press Freedom Prize for Impact, PEN America’s 2024 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award, and PEN Sweden’s 2025 Tucholsky Prize.
Image Credit: Paul Mooney