Vietnam: RSF condemns arrest of famous human rights activist writer

The journalist and writer was arrested on Tuesday, October 6 in a house she rented in Ho Chi Minh City (illustrative image).

Getty Images / David Hannah

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Pham Doan Trang is a renowned Vietnamese writer, press freedom and civil rights activist.

She was arrested Tuesday evening at her home in Ho Chi Minh City and detained for "propaganda against the state".

RSF condemns his arrest and demands his immediate and unconditional release.

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Pham Doan Trang won a 2019 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) award for his work on press freedom after denouncing forced confessions and corporal punishment in Vietnam.

RSF who said he was “shocked” at the news of his arrest.

RSF is really shocked by the arrest of Pham Doan Trang, who was a very emblematic figure of Vietnamese civil society [...] She had an absolutely remarkable process which consisted in explaining to her fellow citizens what their rights are in accordance with the Constitution of Vietnam. Vietnam and beyond the arbitrariness of the ruling Communist Party in Vietnam.

Reaction from Daniel Bastard, head of the Asia-Pacific office at RSF

Jelena tomic

The Vietnamese writer, who worked for years as a journalist for state media, has been accused of " 

", according to the ministry of Public security.

"Opposition to the state" is punished in Vietnam with sentences of up to 20 years in prison.

Pham Doan Trang has claimed in the past that she was beaten and arrested by police because of her job.

In 2016, she was arrested by the police on her way to a meeting with US President Barack Obama, visiting Hanoi.

Last year, she announced she was withdrawing from an independent publisher of political books she had helped found, denouncing police harassment, as well as kidnappings and alleged abuse of her colleagues.

In a letter she wrote at the time, titled “Just in Case I Am Jailed”, she urged the public to fight for free and fair elections in Vietnam rather than for their own freedom.

Pham Doan Trang calls for change on controversial issues like land grabbing and the rights of LGBT communities.

The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) demanded his immediate release, calling the arrest "a 

".

The activist's arrest came shortly after an annual dialogue on human rights issues was held between Washington and Hanoi.

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