# Vietnam: journalist Pham Doan Trang is sentenced to nine years for anti-state "propaganda"

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 2 sources.

Status: in effect, as of 2026-09-22.

What we don't know: The source reviewed does not identify the specific articles or publications Vietnamese authorities cited as anti-state "propaganda."

A Vietnamese court sentenced Pham Doan Trang, founding editor of the independent outlet The Vietnamese, to nine years in prison for distributing anti-state "propaganda" under a national-security provision of the country's penal code.[1][2][3]

- Country: [Viet Nam](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/vn)
- Where: VN
- Level of government: National
- Tactic: Secrets and espionage laws
- Stage: Eliminate (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/secrets_and_espionage_laws#stage-eliminate)
- Ladder note: An independent editor received a nine-year sentence under a national-security speech law for her journalism, not a licensing or credential dispute.
- Head of government at the time: [Nguyen Xuan Phuc](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/nguyen-xuan-phuc)
- Issue of the day: Trang had spent years writing and publishing independent reporting and commentary critical of the ruling Communist Party before her arrest, work for which she had already received international press freedom recognition.
- Outcome: Sustained, December 14, 2021. Trang's nine-year sentence stood as of the source reviewed, with no release reported in it.
- Era: The 2020s

## What happened

On December 14, 2021, a court in Vietnam sentenced Pham Doan Trang, founding editor of the independent publication The Vietnamese, to nine years in prison for distributing anti-state "propaganda" under Article 117 of Vietnam's penal code, a national-security provision the government has used repeatedly against independent writers and bloggers. The Committee to Protect Journalists had earlier honored Trang with its International Press Freedom Award. CPJ's senior Southeast Asia representative, Shawn Crispin, called for her release along with that of other journalists held in Vietnam, saying the country would be taken seriously as a global actor only once it stopped wrongfully imprisoning them. The nine-year term placed Trang among the longest-serving imprisoned journalists in Southeast Asia at the time of sentencing.[1][2][3]

Trang was sentenced to nine years in prison; the source reviewed does not report a subsequent release.[1][2][3]

## What reason was given

Not stated in the sources reviewed as a specific account of the material Vietnamese authorities characterized as anti-state "propaganda."[1][2][3]

## What changed for reporting

An award-winning independent editor received a nine-year sentence under a national-security law, removing one of Vietnam's most prominent independent journalistic voices from publication for a decade.[3]

## Timeline

- 2021-12-14: Vietnam: journalist Pham Doan Trang is sentenced to nine years for anti-state "propaganda"

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Nguyen Xuan Phuc](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/nguyen-xuan-phuc) | other | Prime Minister of Vietnam |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [The Vietnamese](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/the-vietnamese) | outlet | affected |
| [Pham Doan Trang](https://thewaronnews.com/journalists/pham-doan-trang) | journalist, The Vietnamese | affected |

## Sources

1. CPJ calls on Vietnam authorities to release IPFA winner Pham Doan Trang. https://cpj.org/2022/08/cpj-calls-on-vietnam-authorities-to-release-ipfa-winner-pham-doan-trang/ (Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-08-16).
2. Vietnam jails dissident journalist for 9 yrs over 'anti-state' acts. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/dissident-journalist-jailed-vietnam-9-years-anti-state-acts-2021-12-14/ (Reuters, 2021-12-14).

## Claims cited

[1] The court sentenced Trang to nine years for distributing anti-state propaganda under Article 117. Quote: "9 years in prison" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-08-16. CPJ calls on Vietnam authorities to release IPFA winner Pham Doan Trang. https://cpj.org/2022/08/cpj-calls-on-vietnam-authorities-to-release-ipfa-winner-pham-doan-trang/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/591, checked 2026-09-22.

[2] Trang was the founding editor of the independent publication The Vietnamese. Quote: "Founding editor of The Vietnamese, an independent publication" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-08-16. CPJ calls on Vietnam authorities to release IPFA winner Pham Doan Trang. https://cpj.org/2022/08/cpj-calls-on-vietnam-authorities-to-release-ipfa-winner-pham-doan-trang/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/592, checked 2026-09-22.

[3] CPJ's Southeast Asia representative said Vietnam would be taken seriously as a global actor only once it released wrongfully held journalists. Quote: "The sooner Vietnam releases all of the journalists it wrongfully holds behind bars, the sooner it will be taken seriously as a responsible global actor" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2022-08-16. CPJ calls on Vietnam authorities to release IPFA winner Pham Doan Trang. https://cpj.org/2022/08/cpj-calls-on-vietnam-authorities-to-release-ipfa-winner-pham-doan-trang/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/593, checked 2026-09-22.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2021-vietnam-pham-doan-trang-nine-year-sentence. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.