Pham Doan Trang
Defenders' stories
Story behind
Pham Doan Trang is an author, blogger, journalist and pro-democracy activist from Viet Nam. She is a well-known advocate for human rights and has written on a wide range of human rights topics, including LGBTQI+ rights, women’s rights, environmental issues and on the suppression of activists.
She is considered among the most influential and respected human rights defenders in Viet Nam today. She has always been a major source of inspiration and mentorship for Vietnamese civil society and the next generation of human rights defenders.
Trang received the Reporters Without Borders 2019 Press Freedom Prize for Impact and was the Laureate of a Martin Ennals Award in 2022.
What happened
Trang 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 United Nations.
From 7 October 2020 until 21 October 2021, Trang was held in incommunicado detention. About two months later, she was sentenced to nine years in prison for “conducting propaganda against the State”. There are growing concerns about her health as she is not receiving adequate care in detention.
Trang’s case was included in the 2022 and 2023 reports of the Secretary-General on reprisals, on allegations of long-term arbitrary detention and lengthy sentencing for sharing reports on the human rights situation in Viet Nam with the United Nations and other international actors.
On 29 October and 23 December 2021 UN experts addressed Trang’s detention and charges and the fact that reports shared with the UN were 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 criminalisation ultimately undermines the UN human rights system as a whole.
Trang was the subject of several communications by special procedures mandate holders and an Opinion by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2021, which found her deprivation of liberty arbitrary. On 2 November 2022, experts addressed Trang’s detention, including restriction of her right to family visits and her deteriorating health status.
It is only in September 2022 that Trang was allowed to meet her mother since her arrest in October 2020. On 1 October 2022, without any prior notification to her family, Trang was transferred to An Phuoc prison in Binh Duong province, 900 miles from her home, making it very difficult for her family to visit her.
What do we want
We want Trang to be freed so she can continue her work without fear of further reprisals.
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- Story behind
Pham Doan Trang is an author, blogger, journalist and pro-democracy activist from Viet Nam. She is a well-known advocate for human rights and has written on a wide range of human rights topics, including LGBTQI+ rights, women’s rights, environmental issues and on the suppression of activists.
She is considered among the most influential and respected human rights defenders in Viet Nam today. She has always been a major source of inspiration and mentorship for Vietnamese civil society and the next generation of human rights defenders.
Trang received the Reporters Without Borders 2019 Press Freedom Prize for Impact and was the Laureate of a Martin Ennals Award in 2022.
- What happened
Trang 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 United Nations.
From 7 October 2020 until 21 October 2021, Trang was held in incommunicado detention. About two months later, she was sentenced to nine years in prison for “conducting propaganda against the State”. There are growing concerns about her health as she is not receiving adequate care in detention.
Trang’s case was included in the 2022 and 2023 reports of the Secretary-General on reprisals, on allegations of long-term arbitrary detention and lengthy sentencing for sharing reports on the human rights situation in Viet Nam with the United Nations and other international actors.
On 29 October and 23 December 2021 UN experts addressed Trang’s detention and charges and the fact that reports shared with the UN were 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 criminalisation ultimately undermines the UN human rights system as a whole.
Trang was the subject of several communications by special procedures mandate holders and an Opinion by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2021, which found her deprivation of liberty arbitrary. On 2 November 2022, experts addressed Trang’s detention, including restriction of her right to family visits and her deteriorating health status.
It is only in September 2022 that Trang was allowed to meet her mother since her arrest in October 2020. On 1 October 2022, without any prior notification to her family, Trang was transferred to An Phuoc prison in Binh Duong province, 900 miles from her home, making it very difficult for her family to visit her.
- What do we want
We want Trang to be freed so she can continue her work without fear of further reprisals.
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