Vietnamese authorities have arrested one of the country’s most prominent journalists and accused him of “abusing democratic freedoms” by posting articles on Facebook that “infringe on national interests and the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals”.
According to a prominent Vietnamese blogger, the journalist Truong Huy San – known to many by his pen name Huy Duc – was detained last week. But there was no official confirmation until Friday evening after state news media reported that the Ministry of Public Security was investigating Mr. Sang’s Facebook posts. The post did not provide details.
The arrest was an ominous sign for other writers in Vietnam. Journalists have long been targeted by China’s ruling Communist Party, which often cracks down on dissent. But Mr. Sang has managed for years to navigate the small space of independent thought, often publishing articles critical of the government. Until now, his relationships with senior officials were considered a buffer.
Mr. Sang’s case is part of a sweeping crackdown on civil society that many rights groups say has grown in scale and scope in recent years. The law he is accused of violating is an “overbroad” one that authorities often use against critics of the government, according to Human Rights Watch.
“Huy Duc is the most influential journalist in Vietnam,” said Ben Swanton, director of the 88 Project, an American nonprofit focused on human rights issues in Vietnam. “His arrest is a shocking attack on press freedom and the latest in an ongoing crackdown on reformers.”
Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists and PEN America have all called on the government to release Mr. San.
Vietnamese state media covered Mr. Sang’s case and reported the arrest of lawyer Tran Dinh Trien, who was charged with the same crimes as Mr. Sang. Mr. Trien served as deputy director of the Hanoi Bar Association and represented many clients in high-profile legal cases. He was also arrested over 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 his posts were deleted.
Screenshots saved by Project 88 show that on May 26, Mr. San targeted the police on Facebook with the title “A country cannot develop based on fear.” He criticized the concentration of power in the Ministry of Public Security, which was recently led by newly appointed national president Dulin.
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 needs to be done through institutions, not by “eliminating” a few corrupt senior officials.
In 2016, Nguyen Phu Trong said his “furnace” anti-corruption campaign would root out “bad roots” and purify the party, but it also sparked unrest in Vietnam and an unusually high number of high-level resignations.
Mr Sang wrote in a post on May 28 that Mr Thron’s integrity would mean nothing if he “does not demonstrate a political roadmap to make the country more democratic”.
Mr. San received the Hubert H. Humphrey Scholarship to study at the University of Maryland from 2005 to 2006. When he returned to Vietnam in 2006, he started a popular blog where he published social and political commentary. Vietnamese authorities shut down the blog in 2010.
In 2012, Mr. Sang received a Nieman Fellowship to study for a year at Harvard University, where he wrote a journalistic account of the postwar era in Vietnam titled “The Winning Side.” The book was banned in Vietnam and is widely considered the definitive narrative 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.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, the country is the “fifth worst country in the world for jailing journalists,” with at least 19 journalists imprisoned as of December.
