On September 10, 2024, a court in Hanoi sentenced journalist Nguyen Vu Binh to seven years in prison for “propaganda against the state,” a charge that carries a maximum 12-year sentence. An RFA contributor, Binh was arrested in February 2024 and charged under Article 117 of Vietnam’s criminal code, which international rights groups say is broadly worded and used to suppress freedom of expression.
Since 2015, Binh has contributed more than 300 entries to the Radio Free Asia (RFA) blog. His last article, published on February 22, 2024, criticized the Hanoi government’s suppression of pro-democracy activists. Following his arrest, a relative told Radio Free Asia, “The police brought Nguyen Vu Binh home, read out the search warrant, a list of confiscated items and other documents, and took him away.”
Bin has long advocated for democracy and human rights in Vietnam. In December 2003, Binh was sentenced to seven years in prison for “espionage” after the Hanoi People’s Court accused him of distorting the democratic and human rights situation in Vietnam. He was released in 2007 as part of an amnesty and continued his advocacy work. His efforts have earned international recognition, including the Hellman/Hammett writers’ grant, which honors writers who have faced political persecution. Binh received the award in 2002 and again in 2007.
In 2015, he was among a group of bloggers and human rights activists reportedly beaten by plainclothes police in Hanoi.
Following Binh’s 2024 arrest, PEN International joined Radio Free Asia in calling for the charges against him to be dropped and for his immediate release. In a statement, the organization said: “RFA and PEN International firmly uphold the guaranteed freedoms of expression as enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We demand Nguyen Vu Binh’s charges be dropped and call for his immediate release,: