Pham Doan Trang
Cases- Case status
- Unknown
- Location of case in SG report
- 2022-082-001
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2022
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 14.058324
Longitude: 108.277199
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Vietnam
- From Region
- UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
- UN Special Procedures: Thematic
- Dates of prior UN action
- 29 October 2021, 22 November 2021, 23 December 2021
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Female
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
Ms. Trang is a blogger, journalist and democracy activist.
- Type of rights defended
- Civil/political rights
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
sharing reports on the human rights situation in the country with the UN and other international actors (VNM 6/2021).
- Engagement with UN body
- UN Special Procedures: thematic
- Unclear
- Type of attempted engagement
- Submission of information to UN
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- February 2018, 6 October 2020,
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- Vietnam
- Reprisal information
- On 22 November 2021, mandate holders addressed allegations of long-term arbitrary detention and sentencing of several human rights defenders, including that of Ms. Pham Doan Trang for sharing reports on the human rights situation in the country with the UN and other international actors (VNM 6/2021). Ms. Trang is a blogger, journalist and democracy activist. In September 2021, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention deemed her detention arbitrary (Opinion 40/2021).
- Ms. Trang was reportedly placed under de facto house arrest in February 2018 and formally arrested on 6 October 2020. She was prosecuted for her articles and reports on the human rights situation in Viet Nam, including an analysis of a 2016 report on the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Plant environmental disaster that was shared with the UN. Ms. Trang is being held in Hoa Lo Prison.
- On 29 October and 23 December 2021 mandate holders addressed Ms. Trang’s detention and charges, where reports shared with the UN were allegedly used as evidence against her. They noted that the sharing of testimonies and reports is a common way of communicating with the UN, and its criminalization ultimately undermines the UN human rights system as a whole. The Formosa disaster was extensively addressed by UN mandate-holders at the time. On 14 December 2021, Ms. Trang was sentenced to nine years imprisonment.
- According to information received by OHCHR, on 14 December 2021, Ms. Trang was sentenced by Hanoi People’s Court to 9 years in prison for allegedly conducting anti-State propaganda. She has reportedly been denied family visits since her trial in December 2021, and there are serious concerns about her deteriorating physical condition. On 27 January 2022, Ms. Trang’s request for appeal was reportedly accepted, and the appeal trial is expected to take place after May 2022.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Charge/Investigation/Prosecution - General
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Conviction
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Trial
- Detention/Imprisonment: Detention/Imprisonment - General
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- Yes
- Was the case raised by a State at the UN?
- Yes
- Which State raised the case at the UN and when?
In September 2024, BENELUX raised the case at the 57th session of the Human Rights Council during the Interactive Dialogue with the Assistant Secretary-General on the report on reprisals for cooperation with the UN: 'We remain also concerned about the following cases of reprisals.: 4. Pham Doan Trang, a women human rights defender, is currently arbitrarily detained for sharing reports with the UN on the human rights situation in Viet Nam. We call for her immediate release.' The United Kingdom also raised the case at the same session: 'The UK pays tribute to these courageous individuals. In Vietnam, author and journalist Pham Doan Trang remains in detention for her work to advance human rights, including through her engagement with the UN.'
In October 2024, BENELUX raised the case at the Third Committee session during the ID with the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Ilze Brands Kehris.
In March 2025, BENELUX raised the case again at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council during the General Debate under item 5: 'We continue to raise names of those who have been silenced: 6. Journalist and human rights defender Pham Doan Trang, is arbitrarily detained for sharing reports with the UN on the human rights situation in Viet Nam. We call for her immediate release.'
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 1
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
- 2023
- Follow up information provided in SG report 0
- The case of Ms. Pham Doan Trang, a blogger, journalist, and democracy activist, was included in the 2022 report of the Secretary-General 178 on allegations of long-term arbitrary detention and lengthy sentencing for sharing reports on the human rights situation in the country with the United Nations and other international actors. Ms. Trang was the subject of several communications by special procedures mandate holders179 and an Opinion by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention180 in 2021, which found her deprivation of liberty arbitrary. On 2 November 2022, special procedures mandate holders addressed Ms. Trang’s detention, including alleged restriction of her right to family visits and her deteriorating health status (VNM 6/2022). On 7 September 2022, Ms. Trang was allowed to meet her mother and brother for the first time since her arrest in October 2020. On 1 October 2022, without any prior notification to her family, Ms. Trang was transferred to An Phuoc prison, in Binh Duong province. In October 2022, Ms Trang’s family was allowed to visit her. Ms. Trang is allegedly not receiving adequate health care in detention (VNM 6/2022).
- Followup Trends 0
- Deterioration/further reprisals
- Date of follow up 0
- 2 November 2022
- Did the government respond? 0
- No
- Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
- UN Special Procedures: UN Special Procedures - General