Vietnamese journalist Do Van Nga held on anti-state propaganda charge

Bangkok, November 27, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Vietnamese authorities to immediately account for and release journalist Do Van Nga, drop all pending charges against him, and stop harassing journalists with baseless anti-state charges.

Nga, a contributor to the Germany-based Thoibao.de, went missing on November 8, soon after landing at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport, according to Le Trung Khoa, the editor of the independent Vietnamese-language publication, who communicated with CPJ via messaging app.

Nga had traveled from Thailand, where he has lived in exile for several years, to renew his passport, said Khoa. He never emerged from immigration control after texting with his family upon arriving at the airport, the editor said, adding that the journalist’s current location and detention status are unknown. Nga’s family have contacted Vietnamese authorities and not received any information, said Khoa.

On November 17, the Ministry of Public Security began prosecution proceedings against Nga and Khoa on charges of disseminating anti-state propaganda, a criminal offense under Section 117 of the Penal Code, according to news reports and Khoa, who is based in Germany. Convictions under the law carry a maximum 20-year prison sentence.

“Do Van Nga’s detention is yet another example of Vietnam’s relentless campaign to silence independent journalism and commentary,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Nga is a journalist, not a criminal, and should be released immediately and unconditionally.”

Khoa said the charges are likely in retaliation for a German court’s dismissal of all but one defamation complaint filed by Vingroup, one of Vietnam’s largest business conglomerates, over his site’s critical reporting on its Vinfast car maker.

Khoa told CPJ he has faced death threats and lived under police protection in Germany since breaking news in 2017 about Vietnam’s abduction of Vietnamese official Trinh Xuan Thanh from a public park in Berlin to Hanoi.

The Ministry of Public Security did not immediately reply to CPJ’s emailed request for comment. Vietnam consistently ranks among the worst jailers of journalists, with at least 15 behind bars, not including Nga, CPJ’s research shows.