Vietnam: Regime targets human rights defenders working on minority, indigenous, land and environmental rights despite UN review

The state of civic space in Vietnam is rated as ‘closed’. Among ongoing concerns documented are systematic attempts to silence human rights defenders, journalists and bloggers, including their jailing under national security laws, restrictions on their freedom of movement, and torture and ill-treatment in detention. There are also strict controls on the media, online censorship and controls on social media as well as ongoing restrictions on peaceful protests.

On 18th July 2025, the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR) released its findings on Vietnam following the review of the country’s fourth periodic report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The report highlighted concerns about civic freedoms and made recommendations.

In recent months, activists have been arrested, detained and prosecuted on vague and broad charges, especially Articles 116 and 117 of the 2015 Penal Code, including those undertaking religious activities as well as a land rights defender. The UN has also raised concerns about an environmental defender and those advocating the rights of Khmer Krom indigenous peoples. Journalists and bloggers have been arrested and charged while a revised press law will compel journalists to reveal sources.

Association

Arrest and detention of activists

A number of activists were arrested and detained since August 2025 and are facing various allegations.

According to Project88, activist Ho Sy Quyet was detained in Ho Chí Minh City on 28th August 2025, under opaque circumstances. His wife, Tran Ngoc Tram, stated that she last spoke with him briefly at 9:30 p.m. that day, when he answered her call with the words, “I’m at the police station”, before the line was cut. On 1st September 2025, his wife confirmed with officers at the 258 Nguyễn Trãi Police Station in Ho Chi Minh City that Quyet was being held at the request of the Ministry of Public Security. She was denied permission to see him and received no explanation of the charges.

On 4th September 2025, police searched Quyet's home and confiscated several electronic devices and documents. On 19th September 2025, Tram learned that Quyet is being charged with "spreading propaganda against the state" (Article 117)

According to The Vietnamese, on 5th September 2025, several pro-government Facebook pages in Vietnam reported the arrest of human rights activist Ly Quang Son, also known as Tran Quang Trung. The pages claimed that Son was a member of the overseas Viet Tan (a U.S.-based Vietnamese political organisation, banned and labelled a “terrorist group”) and had been detained while “illegally infiltrating” across the border of Vietnam and Cambodia.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that on 6th and 8th October 2025, police in Gia Lai province arrested the land rights activist Vo Thi Phung and her alleged accomplice Nguyen Van Tong for allegedly opposing a groundbreaking ceremony at an industrial park, a development project for which local authorities had confiscated people’s land. The authorities charged both with “abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state” under article 331 of the Penal Code.

Arrests linked to their religious activities and expression

On 8th October 2025, the Security Investigation Agency of the Dak Lak Provincial Police detained Y Nuen Ayun on allegations tied to their religious activities and online expression deemed “anti-state.”

According to The Vietnamese, Y Nuen Ayun, Montagnard pastor, was charged under Article 116 of the 2015 Penal Code for “undermining the policy of national unity” for his involvement in the religious organisation Evangelical Church of Christ in the Central Highlands. Investigators accused Ayun of spreading false information about religious practices in the Central Highlands and defaming local authorities by alleging that they harassed and arrested members of his church. The Evangelical Church of Christ is one of several independent Protestant groups in Vietnam that have been repeatedly targeted by police for operating outside state-sanctioned religious institutions.

Land rights defender sentenced to 11 more years in jail

Imprisoned land rights defender Trinh Ba Phuong was handed a second conviction and prison sentence in September 2025. As previously documented, he was already serving a 10-year prison sentence from 2021 for defending his land from being confiscated by the local authorities without just compensation.

According to the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, on 27th September 2025, the People’s Court in Danang City held the trial of Trinh Ba Phuong on charges of “propaganda against the state” (Article 117 of the Criminal Code), in connection with an A4 paper with the slogans “Down with the Communist Party that Violates Human Rights” and “Down with the Court that Convicted Me”, which police found in Trinh Ba Phuong’s prison cell in November 2024.

Trinh Ba Phuong denied writing those slogans. After about three hours of proceedings, the court found Trinh Ba Phuong guilty of the charges and sentenced him to 11 years in prison. Trinh Ba Phuong’s lawyers were not allowed to present their defence and Trinh Ba Phuong himself was not allowed to make his final statement. Neither family members nor foreign diplomats were allowed to attend the hearing. The courtroom was surrounded by hundreds of security and police officers, and all access points were blocked.

Ba Phuong has campaigned against land grabbing and highlighted its impact on small-scale farmers across the country, along with his mother Can Thi Theu and brother Trinh Ba Tu. All three of them have been arbitrarily incarcerated since June 2020.

UN sends communication on cases of human rights defenders

On 10th July 2025, UN experts sent a Joint Allegation Letter (JAL) to the government concerning alleged negative human rights impacts associated with the implementation of Vietnam’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), including information received regarding the continued incarceration of environmental justice lawyer and environmental human rights defender Dang Dinh Bách.

Dang Dinh Bách is a human rights defender and community lawyer who has been a leader of the climate change movement in Vietnam, seeking a just transition from fossil fuels. He was arrested on 24th June 2021 and sentenced to five years in prison for “tax evasion pursuant to article 200 of the Criminal Code.”

On 21st July, UN experts sent another Joint Allegation Letter (JAL) concerning 17 Khmer Krom individuals, including human rights defenders who advocate for the rights of Khmer Krom Indigenous Peoples. They include Venerable Thach Chanh Da Ra, Thach Nga, Thach Xuan Dong, Danh Minh Quangi, To Hoang Chuong and Thach Cuong.

UN committee raises concerns around freedom of association

In July 2025, the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR) highlighted its concerns about undue restrictions on the establishment, management and operation of public associations, including the requirement to obtain prior authorisation from the authorities.

The Committee was particularly concerned by newly adopted legislation, including Decree No. 126/2024, which gives the government powers to supervise, suspend and dissolve associations. The Committee remains concerned by restrictive regulations, such as Decree No. 114/2021, which give the government oversight and control over funds, particularly foreign funds. The Committee also noted with concern numerous reports of systematic repression of religious minorities practising their faith outside of State-recognised religious organisations and the abuse of overbroad tax laws to penalise human rights defenders and associations of ethnic and religious minorities.

The Committee called on the government to amend its legislation and practice governing the establishment, management and operation of associations so that they can register and carry out their activities free from undue state interference, without fear of harassment or reprisals and in a safe enabling environment. It also called for the removal of all undue restrictions on and oversight of the ability of civil society organisations to receive international and national funding, and refrain from using overbroad tax laws to penalise human rights defenders and associations of ethnic and religious minorities.

Expression

Journalists and bloggers remain at risk

Press freedom is severely restricted in Vietnam. Traditional media are closely controlled by the single party. Independent reporters and bloggers are often jailed, making Vietnam one of the world's biggest prisons for journalists.

Authorities issued an arrest warrant on 14th August 2025 for Doan Bao Chau for propagandising against the state. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Chau, who has previously worked as a freelance photographer for the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse news agencies and as a reporter for The New York Times, currently reports via his personal Facebook page, which has over 200,000 followers.

Chau told CPJ that he was subjected to a travel ban and frequent police summons over his reporting beginning in June 2024, after which he went into hiding. On 3rd July 2025, over 20 officers raided and searched his home in the capital Hanoi, and charged him under Article 117 of the Penal Code.

On 7th October 2025, police arrested independent journalist Huynh Ngoc Tuan at his home in Buon Ho town, Dak Lak province. According to CPJ, Tuan has been charged under Article 117 of the Penal Code, which criminalises “propagandising against the state” and carries penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

Tuan, an independent journalist and writer who was previously imprisoned for 10 years for his critical writings, regularly posts commentary about Vietnamese politics, human rights, and international affairs on his personal Facebook page. In 2012, he received Human Rights Watch’s Hellman/Hammett award, which recognises persecuted writers.

According to HRW, on 9th October 2025, police in Nghe An province arrested a blogger, Nguyen Duy Niem, and charged him with conducting propaganda against the state under Penal Code article 117. The authorities prosecuted him for allegedly being affiliated with the Collective for Democracy and Pluralism, a pro-democracy group founded in France in 1982 to campaign for civil and political rights in Vietnam.

Revised press law will compel journalists to reveal sources

According to The Vietnamese, on 8th October 2025 the National Assembly’s Standing Committee proposed amendments to the Press Law on four major policy areas: strengthening state management of journalism activities; improving the qualifications of journalists and media leadership; promoting the economic development of the press sector; and regulating online journalism.

A notable change in the draft allows media agencies to partner with external organisations to produce content, except for politically sensitive areas such as current affairs, national security, defence, and foreign relations.

However, a controversial clause introduces a provision empowering the chief investigators of the Ministry of Public Security and provincial police to request that news organisations or journalists disclose the identities of their information sources for use in criminal investigations, prosecutions, or trials.

This new rule, if enacted, could have a chilling effect on press freedom and journalistic independence, as it challenges the long-held principle of source protection that underpins investigative reporting.

Peaceful Assembly

UN committee raises concerns around restrictions on protest

In July 2025, the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR) highlighted its concerns about the excessive restrictions imposed on freedom of peaceful assembly and public meetings, including events organised by religious minorities. It was particularly concerned about the application of Prime Minister Decision No. 06/2020, requiring advance government approval for public events on human rights. The Committee was also concerned about reports of disproportionate use of force and arbitrary arrests by law enforcement officials to disperse peaceful assemblies, in particular those organised by religious minorities.

The Committee called on the government to ensure that it adheres to the Committee’s general comment No. 37 (2020) on the right of peaceful assembly, to eliminate the requirement for prior authorisation for peaceful assemblies and allow for a prior notification procedure, and immediately release all those arbitrarily detained.

The Committee also recommended that all allegations of excessive use of force or arbitrary arrest or detention in the context of peaceful assemblies are investigated promptly, thoroughly and impartially, that those responsible are brought to justice and, if found guilty, receive appropriate punishment and that victims obtain full reparation,