A report released this week by the human rights organization Project88 documented 56 arrests of activists, writers, and other individuals in Vietnam in 2025, which the group identified as the highest annual number it has recorded since 2018. The Bangkok-based organization stated that the figure was double the number of similar arrests it documented in 2022.
According to the report, of the 56 individuals arrested last year, 15 have been sentenced, while the remaining 41 are either awaiting trial or are being held without one.
The report lists several individuals who were detained in 2025. These include writer Huynh Ngoc Tuan, who was arrested in October and charged under Article 117 of the criminal code, and land rights advocate Pham Viet Cong, who was arrested in July. Also mentioned was Y Quynh Bdap, an activist for the Montagnard minority group, who was arrested in Thailand and extradited to Vietnam in December.
Additionally, the report notes the June 2025 arrests of three individuals associated with the YouTube channel “Nguoi Da Tin” (The Messenger). They were charged in connection with publishing videos that authorities said contained distorted content.
Project88’s report links the increase in arrests to a 2023 directive from the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV). The report references Political Bureau Directive 24, which it states called for measures to counter the influence of what the directive termed “hostile and reactionary forces.” According to Project88’s description, the directive cited concerns that such forces were using Vietnam’s international integration to promote activities aimed at “internal political transformation” and the formation of opposition groups.
The organization also pointed to a shift in the criminal charges used in the documented cases. Its data shows an increased application of Article 331, which addresses “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state.” The report states that this charge, which carries a potential sentence of up to seven years, was used in 64% of the arrests it recorded in 2025, an increase from 51% in 2024. Article 117, which prohibits “propaganda against the state,” was used in 14 of the documented arrests last year, the report said.
In its analysis, Project88 characterized Articles 117 and 331 as laws that “both punish speech, both are deliberately vague, both view the state as the protected party, and neither recognizes truth as a defense.”
The government of Vietnam has not issued a public response to the Project88 report. Vietnamese officials have previously stated that only those who break the law are arrested and prosecuted, and that the country’s legal actions are intended to ensure national security.
