Today, May 27, Pham Doan Trang celebrates her 46th birthday in prison, her third one behind bars. According to PEN America’s latest report, she is among 19 writers incarcerated in Vietnam for their writings.

PEN America named Vietnam the third biggest jailer of writers in 2024. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) named Vietnam the fifth jailer of journalists worldwide in 2024. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) listed Vietnam lower than China and Myanmar in its 2024 World Press Freedom Index. The overall picture of freedom of expression in Vietnam has become more depressed every year in the last decade. The penal codes, such as Article 117, for spreading propaganda against the state, and Article 331, abuse of democratic freedoms, are routinely used against writers, journalists, dissidents, and even regular Vietnamese.