Vietnamese authorities have arrested one of the country’s most prominent journalists and charged him with “abusing democratic freedoms” by posting articles on Facebook that “violated national interests and the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals.”
The journalist, Truong Huy San, known to many by his pen name, Huy Duc, was detained last week, according to a prominent Vietnamese blogger. But official confirmation was not given until late Friday, when the state news media reported that the Ministry of Public Security was investigating a Facebook post Mr. Truong had made. No details were available about the content of the post.
The arrests are an ominous sign for other Vietnamese writers. For a long time For the country The ruling Communist PartyBut over the years, Mr. Sang has managed to navigate a very small space for independent thought, often publishing articles critical of the government. His connections to top officials were seen as a buffer — until now.
Mr. San's case is A sweeping crackdown on civil society Many human rights groups say the law has grown in size and scope in recent years. Human Rights Watch called the law he was accused of violating “overbroad” and that authorities often use it against government critics.
"Huy Duc is the most influential journalist in Vietnam," 88 itemsa U.S.-based nonprofit focused on human rights in Vietnam. “His arrest is a shocking attack on press freedom and the latest in a sustained crackdown on reformers.”
Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists and PEN America have called on the government to release Mr. Sang.
Vietnamese state media reported on Mr. Sang’s case and the arrest of a lawyer, Tran Dinh Tien, who was charged with the same crimes as Mr. Sang. Tran was once vice president of the Hanoi Bar Association and had represented many high-profile cases. He was also arrested for articles he posted on Facebook.
After Mr Sang, 62, disappeared on June 1, his Facebook account, which had more than 350,000 followers, was deactivated and all his posts deleted.
Screenshots saved by Project 88 show that on May 26, Mr. Sang criticized the police on Facebook under the title “A country cannot be built on fear.” He criticized the concentration of power in the Ministry of Public Security, which was recently replaced by the Ministry of Public Security. DulinNew president.
On May 28, Mr. Sang published an article criticizing the anti-corruption campaign launched by Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Mr. Sang wrote that anti-corruption must be achieved through the system, not by “purging” a few corrupt senior officials.
In 2016, Nguyen Phu Trong said that his “Crucible of Fire” anti-corruption campaign would eradicate “bad roots” and purify the party order, but the campaign also led to a large number of Senior resignation.
Mr. Sang wrote in a May 28 post that if Nguyen Phu Trong “does not come up with a political roadmap to make the country more democratic, his integrity will be meaningless.”
Mr. San received a Hubert H. Humphrey Scholarship to study at the University of Maryland from 2005 to 2006. After returning to Vietnam in 2006, he created a popular blog of social and political commentary that was shut down by Vietnamese authorities in 2010.
In 2012, Mr. Sang spent a year at Harvard University on a Nieman Fellowship, during which time he wrote a journalism account of the postwar period in Vietnam called “The Winning Party.” The book, banned in Vietnam, is widely considered the definitive account of postwar Vietnamese history and politics.
According to the 2024 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders, Vietnam ranks 174th out of 180 countries and regions.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says the country is the “fifth worst jailer of journalists in the world,” with at least 19 journalists imprisoned as of December.
