HRW calls for the release of five people arrested over a controversial book about Hồ Chí Minh. In response, Việt Nam’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the appeal, stating the allegations are “not worth commenting on.”
The Latest: “The so-called allegations by Human Rights Watch, or HRW, are not worth commenting on,” Việt Nam Foreign Ministry spokesperson Phạm Thu Hằng stated on the afternoon of July 23.
- The statement was made in response to a reporter asking for Việt Nam’s official reaction to Human Rights Watch (HRW) calling for the release of five individuals charged in connection with the book Chuyện với Thanh – Lời kể mới về ánh sáng.
- Luật Khoa Magazine contacted the Foreign Ministry by email to ask why it had taken this position but had not received a response.
The Details: On July 21, HRW called on Việt Nam to immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against the five people arrested in connection with the book:
- Nguyễn Thành Nam, the author
- Trần Việt Anh, director of Spiderum (the platform that promoted the book)
- Nguyễn Thúy Hằng, director of the Writers’ Association Publishing House
- Đào Bá Đoàn, the publishing house’s editor-in-chief
- Nguyễn Văn Yên, head of its editorial department.
All five face charges under Article 117 of the Penal Code for “making, storing, distributing, or disseminating information, documents, or materials aimed at opposing the State.”
- HRW described this national security provision as “notorious” and noted that publishing the home addresses of the defendants violated the privacy of their families.
“The wave of arrests over a book about Hồ Chí Minh sends a disturbing message to Vietnamese writers, journalists, and publishers,” said Elaine Pearson, the Asia director for Human Rights Watch.
- “The so-called era of ‘national rise’ appears to mean only escalating repression.” Pearson added, “The harsh response to the book shows that even well-connected figures in business, publishing, and media are not safe from hard-liners in the Communist Party.”
HRW has not commented further since the Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s remarks.
- Luật Khoa attempted to contact HRW about the statement but has not received a response.
Likewise, Luật Khoa has been unable to contact the defendants or their legal representatives for comment.
Domestic Takes: Domestic social media accounts and public figures largely rejected the appeal from HRW and supported Phạm Thu Hằng’s stance.
On July 22, the Facebook page Tifosi, known for pro-government content, labeled Human Rights Watch a “subversive organization.”
- The page claimed that the defendants did not need advocacy because they had already “admitted wrongdoing, honestly confessed, prepared certificates of merit and other documents to seek reduced sentences, and pledged that they had no ties to reactionary human rights organizations.”
- Tifosi further claimed, “One fact is that almost anyone HRW speaks up for gets nearly the maximum sentence.”
On the same day, Lt. Gen. Nguyễn Thanh Tuấn, a prominent figure in recent campaigns against alleged efforts to “rewrite history,” posted on Facebook:
“A nongovernmental organization in the United States regularly interferes in the internal affairs of other countries, including our Việt Nam. Whenever it interferes, the Vietnamese people believe 100% that those individuals are guilty and trust that our security investigation agency has charged the right people with the right crimes. That is truly significant. I hope investigators expand the case so that no person or offense is overlooked. As our ancestors said, when a house burns, the rats reveal themselves. The small rats have already appeared, so are there any sewer rats left?”
On July 23, philosophy professor Nguyễn Cảnh Toàn of Thăng Long University in Hà Nội stated that “international nongovernmental organizations have the freedom to conduct research, publish findings, and advocate on human rights, but they DO NOT have the legal authority to interfere in or compel any country to follow their views or recommendations.”
Furthermore, writer Nguyễn Mai Dung praised the response from the Foreign Ministry on her personal Facebook page, stating: “It does not acknowledge the validity of the allegation and does not accept bringing the issue into a public debate.”
- According to Dung, the phrase “not worth commenting on” is a notable “diplomatic or dialogue technique” because it rejects the standing of the party making the allegations rather than rebutting them individually.
- She added, “Refusing dialogue can sometimes convey a tougher position than a statement several pages long.”
Numerous other accounts and pages, including Thực chứng, Tiếng nói Việt Nam, Tiếng tổ quốc, and Chống tin giả, tin xuyên tạc, also published posts criticizing HRW.
The Background: Human Rights Watch is an international nongovernmental organization headquartered in New York.
- Operating since 1978 under the initial name Helsinki Watch, its primary work involves investigating and reporting on human rights abuses across more than 100 countries; it monitors governments, armed groups, companies and nongovernmental organizations, seeking to promote change through law enforcement, policy and other measures.
- The organization employs approximately 500 staff members from 70 countries and states that it accepts no government funding and receives most of its financial support from individuals and private foundations.
Global attitudes toward Human Rights Watch vary significantly.
- European institutions view it as a credible organization, and the Home Office in the United Kingdom uses its reports to assess asylum claims.
- Countries such as China, Russia, and Việt Nam frequently reject its reports.
- Russia closed the organization’s Moscow office in April 2022 and added Human Rights Watch to its list of “undesirable” foreign organizations in November 2025.
- Việt Nam consistently rejects HRW reports, describing them as false, fabricated, and biased.
- On June 30, 2026, HRW called on Việt Nam to release more than 160 political prisoners it claimed were detained solely for exercising their fundamental rights.
The Chuyện với Thanh Controversy: The controversy surrounding Chuyện với Thanh began when the book drew divided reactions and accusations that it had “rewritten history,” “insulted President Hồ Chí Minh,” and “insulted the Vietnamese nation” by providing an alternative account of Nguyễn Tất Thành.
- The initial backlash was led by Facebook users Phan Trung Can and Lt. Gen. Nguyễn Thanh Tuấn, who previously played prominent roles in denunciation campaigns against the novel The Sorrow of War and an event about Trương Vĩnh Ký.
- This was followed by the arrests and penalization of several individuals and organizations connected to the book.
State media reported the arrests of Nguyễn Thành Nam and Trần Việt Anh on the evening of July 7, with Hà Nội police subsequently charging and detaining Nguyễn Thúy Hằng, Đào Bá Đoàn, and Nguyễn Văn Yên on July 15.
- All were charged under Article 117 of the Penal Code with “making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents or materials aimed at opposing the State.”
The Writers’ Association Publishing House issued an apology on June 10, halted distribution, and recalled the book.
- On June 15, the publishing house was suspended for two months and fined 100 million đồng for publishing “extremely serious false information” in the book.
By July 15, the Press Authority announced it had fined 23 media outlets and disciplined more than 30 individuals for publishing articles that “praised” the text.
Lê Sáng wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on July 24, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights to the English translation.
