CPJ calls on Vietnam to roll back media repression ahead of Communist Party congress

Bangkok, January 16, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists urges authorities in Vietnam to roll back a crackdown on independent media and release imprisoned journalists ahead of next week’s Communist Party congress.

On December 31, Hanoi’s People’s Court convicted Le Trung Khoa, editor and founder of the Germany-based news site Toibao.de, in absentia and sentenced him to 17 years in prison under Article 117 of the Penal Code, a provision that criminalizes disseminating propaganda against the state, according to news reports and Khoa, who communicated with CPJ via messaging app.

Two contributors to Toibao.de, Do Van Nga and Huynh Bao Duc, were convicted under Article 117 the same day and sentenced to seven years and six-and-a-half years, respectively, those sources said. The journalists were convicted over 21 videos and 10 articles the court said insulted the Communist Party, state leaders, and officials.

“These draconian sentences show Vietnam intends to silence critical reporting at all costs ahead of the Party Congress,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative. “Authorities should immediately overturn these convictions and stop abusing vague laws to criminalize journalism.”

Nga, who was arrested at Ho Chi Minh City’s airport on November 8, was forced to confess to the charges on national television on December 28, according to news reports and Khoa, who told CPJ the sentences were “absurd and illegal” and a “cross-border attack on press freedom.”

Authorities have intensified media repression ahead of the congress, which will be held January 19 to 25 and determine top leaders and policies.

On December 10, Vietnam’s parliament passed amendments to the press law that tightened restrictions on information gathering and sharing and eroded source confidentiality, news reports said. Authorities have since arrested several people for sharing news articles over social media, according to multiple news reports.

The Ministry of Public Security did not immediately reply to CPJ’s emailed request for comment. Vietnam consistently ranks among the world’s worst jailers of journalists, with at least 16 behind bars, according to CPJ data.