Journalist Detained on Harsh Anti-State Charges After Returning From Exile

December 04, 2025 – Vietnam – 

Vietnam is facing renewed criticism from global press-freedom groups after journalist Do Van Nga was detained on arrival in Ho Chi Minh City and later charged with disseminating “anti-state propaganda,” a sweeping accusation widely used to silence independent reporting. His arrest marks yet another escalation in Hanoi’s longstanding campaign against dissident journalists, bloggers, and digital media workers.

Nga, who had been living abroad for several years, disappeared shortly after landing at Tan Son Nhat International Airport on 8 November 2025. Family members and colleagues raised alarms when he failed to emerge from immigration. Nearly a week later, authorities confirmed he had been taken into custody, though no clarification was given at the time regarding his location or well-being.

On 17 November, Vietnamese officials announced that Nga was being prosecuted under Article 117 of the Penal Code, one of the country’s most severe national-security statutes. The article criminalises the creation or sharing of information deemed hostile to the state — a charge that carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Authorities accuse Nga and a Germany-based collaborator of producing online content “aimed at undermining the government,” though no specific evidence has been presented publicly.

Nga previously contributed to Thoibao.de, an independent German-language news platform known for its critical coverage of Vietnam’s political and economic elite. His detention comes just weeks after a German court dismissed a high-profile defamation lawsuit filed by Vingroup, a major Vietnamese conglomerate, against the outlet. That ruling, observers say, may have heightened tensions between the publication and officials in Hanoi.

Press-freedom advocates have condemned the move as politically motivated. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) issued a sharp statement demanding Nga’s immediate release and urging Vietnam to halt its crackdown on independent reporters. Rights groups note that Vietnam has increasingly used vague “anti-state” provisions to target journalists, environmental activists, and government critics, often holding them incommunicado before trial.

Nga’s arrest underscores a stark reality: despite its global economic ambitions, Vietnam remains one of Asia’s most repressive environments for the press. As international pressure builds, the case raises pressing questions about whether independent journalism can survive in a climate where criticism is equated with criminality, and returning home can lead straight to a prison cell.

Reference – 

https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/vietnam-journalist-detained-on-anti-state-charges

Vietnamese journalist Do Van Nga held on anti-state propaganda charge