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“Hoàng Thị Hồng Thái, or Hồng Thái Hoàng, will have to be away from her family for six years.”

The Latest: On July 29, Atty. Lê Đình Việt wrote on his personal Facebook page that his client, Hoàng Thị Hồng Thái (Hồng Thái Hoàng), was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison.

A day prior, on July 28, the lawyer said Thái had messaged him that she was scheduled to go to court, expressing that her only worry was for her five school-age children and hoping her friends would assist them while she was away.

The Details: The exact proceedings and contents of the judgment remain largely undisclosed, as the trial was conducted entirely behind closed doors.

When Luật Khoa Magazine contacted, Atty. Lê Đình Việt stated that he could not provide related information due to the closed nature of the trial.

State media has not reported on the first-instance trial, and the verdict has not been updated on the Supreme People’s Court’s judgment publication portal .

Hà Nội police originally detained Thái on Jan. 7 under Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code on charges of “making, storing, distributing or propagandizing information, documents or items aimed at opposing the state.”

Initial police investigations and the press claimed she had spent years reposting articles from political pages labeled as “reactionary,” including Việt Tân, which the government classifies as a terrorist organization.

Police noted that posts on her personal Facebook page “Hong Thai Hoang"—which had over 91,000 followers at the time of her arrest and has since grown to nearly 120,000—attracted thousands of interactions.

HRW Statement: On July 29, Human Rights Watch urged Việt Nam to immediately quash the conviction.

Patricia Gossman, the associate Asia director for Human Rights Watch, stated:

“Hoàng Thị Hồng Thái should never have been prosecuted merely for speaking out against injustice and human rights violations by the Vietnamese government. The government should immediately release her and others persecuted merely for peacefully exercising their right to free expression.”

Who is Hoàng Thị Hồng Thái? Born in 1980 and hailing from Hưng Yên, Thái is recognized for her online commentary on political and social issues, advocating for democracy, and criticizing the Vietnamese government.

Alongside her Facebook presence, she operates a TikTok channel with more than 1,900 followers.

Her recent posts discussed police power and the criminalization of the “Về đây bốn cánh chim trời” case.

State media has previously described her as a “ prominent anti-state figure. ”

Social Media Takes: Following the news of her sentencing, numerous individuals criticized the verdict online.

Facebook user Nguyễn Khương Duy published an analysis titled “The Six-Year Prison Sentence for Hoàng Thị Hồng Thái and the Price of Dissent,” arguing that the conviction restricted freedom of expression and weaponized Article 117 to criminalize critical opinions and deter societal critique.

Another user, Le Anh , wrote: “I oppose the six-year prison sentence handed down to Hoàng Thị Hồng Thái, a mother of five children, including a young child with autism, merely because she exercised her right to peacefully express critical views on social media.” He added that the article is “continuing to be abused as a tool to suppress freedom of expression,” and that her sentencing “is not an act of protecting national security, but a direct repression of dissenting voices.”

Facebook user Nguyễn Ngọc Ánh noted Thái's courage, writing: “Hoàng Thị Hồng Thái is among the few women imprisoned for her intellect. She seemed to see through the nature of society and its need for reform, and courageously spoke out.”

Similarly, a user named Kimberly Ng commented on the contradictions of national policy, writing: “The more I think about it, the more heartbreaking life feels, when a country keeps proudly proclaiming that it is reaching out to the open sea but remains wary and fearful of minds that dare to think differently from the prescribed orientation.” The account added that “law exists to serve as a launchpad for progress and to protect justice, not as a tool to sow fear.”

Why It Matters: Thái's conviction is part of a broader, aggressive enforcement of Article 117 of the 2015 Penal Code, a provision Human Rights Watch describes as a “notorious” national security tool utilized against those acting contrary to the Communist Party's direction.

Her case follows a string of similar prosecutions across the country.

On Dec. 31, 2025, the Hà Nội People’s Court sentenced dissidents Lê Trung Khoa and Nguyễn Văn Đài in absentia to 17 years in prison under Clause 2, Article 117 of the Penal Code.

In July 2026, Hà Nội police prosecuted and detained five individuals connected to the book “Chuyện với Thanh” under the same article: Author Nguyễn Thành Nam

Spiderum director Trần Việt Anh

Writers’ Association Publishing House director Nguyễn Thúy Hằng

Publisher editor-in-chief Đào Bá Đoàn

Editorial Board head Nguyễn Văn Yên.

Furthermore, on July 28, journalist Đoàn Bảo Châu was indicted on the exact same charge and faces a trial in absentia scheduled for Aug. 3.

These recent cases join a long list of previously imprisoned journalists, bloggers, and activists incarcerated under Article 117, including:

Phạm Đoan Trang (sentenced to nine years)

Trịnh Bá Phương (sentenced to 10 years)

Cấn Thị Thêu and Trịnh Bá Tư (each sentenced to eight years).

Lê Sáng wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on July 30, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights to the English translation.

Việt Nam Sentences Facebooker Hoàng Thị Hồng Thái to Six Years Under Article 117

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