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December 11, 2025 – Vietnam –
Press-freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has strongly condemned Vietnam’s latest legal crackdown on independent journalism, warning that new court rulings and prosecutions mark a significant escalation in the government’s long-running campaign to silence critical reporting. The organization says the measures further entrench Vietnam’s status as one of Asia’s most restrictive environments for media freedom.
According to RSF, Vietnamese authorities have recently intensified their use of vaguely worded criminal provisions to target journalists, bloggers, and independent media contributors whose work falls outside state-controlled outlets. The latest cases involve the application of national security and “anti-state” laws that carry lengthy prison sentences, even when the accused are engaged in peaceful reporting or commentary on public affairs.
RSF noted that the legal actions are part of a broader pattern in which Vietnam’s judiciary is used as a tool of repression rather than an independent safeguard. Journalists are frequently charged under provisions that criminalize “abusing democratic freedoms” or “spreading propaganda against the state,” laws that give courts wide discretion and leave defendants little room to mount an effective defense. Trials are often closed, and verdicts are swift, reinforcing concerns over due-process violations.
The organization warned that these prosecutions have a chilling effect far beyond the individuals targeted. Independent journalists who continue to report on corruption, environmental damage, labor rights, or political accountability increasingly face the choice between self-censorship, exile, or imprisonment. RSF emphasized that the crackdown is particularly damaging in the digital space, where online writers and citizen journalists had previously carved out limited room for independent expression.
Vietnam already ranks among the world’s leading jailers of journalists, with dozens of reporters and bloggers currently imprisoned, according to international monitoring groups. RSF stressed that the latest cases demonstrate the authorities’ determination to eradicate remaining pockets of independent journalism ahead of sensitive political periods, including party meetings and policy debates.
Calling on the Vietnamese government to immediately halt the prosecutions, RSF urged the repeal or amendment of repressive laws that criminalize legitimate journalistic work. The organization also appealed to the international community, including trade partners and multilateral institutions, to raise press-freedom concerns in their engagement with Hanoi.
Without meaningful legal reform and the release of jailed journalists, RSF warned, Vietnam’s media landscape will continue to shrink, depriving the public of independent information and undermining fundamental rights to free expression and accountability.
Reference –
https://rsf.org/en/rsf-condemns-vietnam-s-latest-legal-crackdown-independent-journalism
https://www.ucanews.com/news/vietnam-parliament-approves-fresh-media-restrictions/111275
