Vietnam: Journalist detained on anti-state charges

Journalist Do Van Nga has been charged with disseminating anti-state propaganda on November 17 after disappearing following his arrival at Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport earlier that month. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges the Vietnamese authorities to immediately release Nga and drop all charges against him.

Journalist Do Van Nga was charged with disseminating anti-state propaganda on November 17. Credit: Facebook

The Thailand-based independent journalist, who is a contributor to Vietnamese language outlet Thoibao.dein Germany, was declaredmissing on November 8 after failing to pass airport immigration in Ho Chi Minh City. Nga contacted family members after landing at the airport, who later reported his absence to authorities when he failed to pass immigration. Nga had planned to briefly return to Vietnam to renew his passport, having resided in exile in Thailand.

The same day, Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) launcheda probe into the case against Nga and the Germany-based editor of Thoibao.de, Ke Trung Khoa. Both journalists were charged with "making, storing, distributing, or spreading information, documents, or items aimed at sabotaging the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam".

Authorities officially openedthe investigation against Khoa and Nga on November 17 under Article 117 of Vietnam's Penal Code. If convicted, both journalists face a maximum of 20 years in jail. Khoa said the charges appear to be retaliation for a recent German court decision that dismissedall but one of Vietnamese conglomerate Vingroup's defamation complaints against Thoibao.de over its critical reporting on the company's VinFast car manufacturer.

Khoa has received death threats and has been under police protection in Germany since 2017, when he exposed Vietnam's abductionof former official Trinh Xuan Thanh from Berlin to Hanoi.

The IFJ has long documented the use Article 117 to charge journalists in Vietnam, including Doan Bao Chua, who was issuedan arrest warrant after going into hiding in August, Truong Huy San who was convicted for to 30 months in jail in February for anti-state reporting on social media in March 2025, and blogger Duong Van who was sentenced to 12 years in jail for publishing commentary on government corruption in November 2024.

The IFJ said: "The charges against Do Van Nga and Ke Trung Khoa demonstrate how Article 117 is routinely weaponised to intimidate independent media workers and suppress critical voices in Vietnam. The IFJ urges the authorities to drop all charges against Nga and Khoa and cease the transnational persecution of journalists for reporting in the public interest."