CPJ, partners call for journalists’ protection in Vietnam ahead of country’s human rights review

New York, November 2, 2023—Journalists in Vietnam are facing widespread threats and mistreatment, and have been routinely detained or imprisoned for their reporting and commentary, according to a joint submission to the United Nations prepared by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Freedom House, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.

The joint submission is being released on November 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, ahead of Vietnam’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva in April-May 2024. Vietnam was one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists, with at least 21 behind bars as of December 1, 2022, when CPJ conducted its most recent annual prison census. 

The report highlighted the cruel and degrading treatment of journalists and human rights defenders, including lengthy pre-trial detention and incommunicado holdings. The groups called for the immediate release of all journalists who have been arbitrarily detained, including CPJ’s 2022 International Press Freedom Award winner Pham Doan Trang, who is currently serving a nine-year sentence on anti-state charges after a one-day trial.

Read the full submission below.