Svenska PEN ingår i en internationell koalition av organisationer för pressfrihet och mänskliga rättigheter som återigen kräver att den vietnamesiska författaren, journalisten och demokratiförespråkaren Phạm Đoan Trang omedelbart och villkorslöst friges. Idag fyller hon 48 år vilket innebär att det är den sjätte födelsedagen som hon tillbringar sin bakom galler.
Phạm Đoan Trang tilldelades Tucholskypriset 2025 för sitt hängivna skrivande och för sin outtröttliga kamp för yttrandefrihet och demokrati i Vietnam. Hon är också ett av de fall som Svenska PEN lyfter i utställningen Fängslad – Inte tystad som öppnar på Sveriges Fängelsemuseum i Gävle nästa vecka.
Läs hela uttalandet här.
International Coalition Calls for the Release of Phạm Đoan Trang on Her 48th Birthday
May 27, 2026 — An international coalition of press freedom and human rights organizations again calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Vietnamese journalist, author, and democracy advocate Phạm Đoan Trang as she marks her 48th birthday. This is the 6th time that she will spend her birthday behind bars.
“I don’t want freedom for myself; that’s too easy. No, I want something greater: freedom for Vietnam.” — Phạm Đoan Trang
Phạm Đoan Trang is the co-founder of the independent news sites Luật Khoa Magazine and The Vietnamese Magazine. She was arrested at her home in October 2020, shortly after publishing an investigative report on the deadly police raid in Đồng Tâm, a village near Hà Nội. After being held incommunicado for more than a year, she was sentenced to nine years in prison for allegedly “propagandizing anti-state propaganda.”
This is the sixth birthday Trang has spent in detention. Her continued imprisonment remains a grave injustice and a stark symbol of the Vietnamese government’s ongoing repression of independent journalism, civic activism, and the public’s right to information.
Trang’s health remains a serious concern. She has suffered from multiple medical conditions that worsened during detention, including the lingering effects of COVID-19 contracted in prison, chronic sinusitis, arthritis, and gynecological issues. Her prolonged isolation from her family and the severe restrictions on visits, communication, legal counsel, and independent medical care have raised further concerns about her physical and psychological well-being.
In October 2022, she was transferred to a prison in southern Việt Nam, nearly 1,600 kilometers from her family home, making visits from her elderly mother extremely difficult. Her imprisonment has not only deprived her of her liberty but also inflicted an ongoing punishment on her family.
Born on May 27, 1978, in Hà Nội, Phạm Đoan Trang has devoted her life to defending freedom of expression, access to information, and civic rights in Việt Nam. She is the author of numerous works on democracy, human rights, public policy, and authoritarianism, written to empower Vietnamese citizens with knowledge and courage. Before her arrest, she endured years of harassment, surveillance, temporary detentions, and violence because of her journalism and advocacy.
Her case remains emblematic of Việt Nam’s broader crackdown on journalists, writers, dissidents, and ordinary citizens who exercise their right to free expression. Independent voices are routinely prosecuted under vague national security provisions, including charges of “propaganda against the state” and “abusing democratic freedoms,” while the government continues to censor the press, surveil online expression, and intimidate critics and their families.
In 2026, Việt Nam remained among the world’s most repressive countries for press freedom and free expression. Reporters Without Borders ranked Việt Nam 174th out of 180 countries in its 2026 World Press Freedom Index, down one place from 2025, with a score of 21.15. PEN America’s 2025 Freedom to Write Index, released in May 2026, ranked Việt Nam as the fourth-largest jailer of writers globally, with 24 writers behind bars for their expression, citing the misuse of the Penal Code, Cybersecurity Law, and other laws to punish dissenting voices.
On Phạm Đoan Trang’s 48th birthday, we urge the international community to press the Vietnamese government to:
Immediately and unconditionally release Phạm Đoan Trang and all other imprisoned journalists, writers, and human rights defenders;
Guarantee her safety, psychological well-being, and access to adequate, independent medical care;
Allow her regular contact with her family and access to medical professionals of her own choosing;
End threats, harassment, and reprisals against writers, journalists, dissidents, and their families for exercising free expression.
A birthday should be spent with loved ones, not behind prison walls. Phạm Đoan Trang has already sacrificed years of her freedom for the freedom of others. Her voice has not been silenced; it keeps motivating those who believe that truth, dignity, and press freedom are not crimes.
Vietnamese authorities must release Phạm Đoan Trang immediately and unconditionally.
Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
PEN International
PEN Sweden