Pham Chi Dung ‘dared to report the truth’

One of VOA Vietnamese Service’s most popular contributor’s, Pham Chi Dung, is currently serving a 15-year prison term for so-called “dangerous actions” against the Vietnamese government. At the time of his arrest in Ho Chi Minh City in November 2019, police accused the blogger of “producing, possessing, and spreading anti-state information and documents” and of spreading “distorted information.” At a one-day trial in January 2021, a court sentenced Pham Chi Dung to 15 years imprisonment, to be followed by three years of house arrest.

As well as contributing to VOA, Pham Chi Dung is the founding chair of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam.

During the trial, Pham Chi Dung and his two co-defendants said they founded the association to promote freedom of expression, according to the journalist’s lawyer.

Before his arrest, Pham Chi Dung had reported on a European Union-Vietnam free trade agreement, and had signed a petition as association chair, calling for the EU to postpone ratifying the trade agreement until Vietnam improved its press freedom record, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In a statement at the time of his sentencing, then USAGM CEO Michael Pack said that Pham Chi Dung and his co-accused “dared to report the truth about the Communist Party of Vietnam. They should not be imprisoned but heralded.”

Pham Chi Dung has several health issues that are complicated by his imprisonment, including tinnitus, knee pain and insomnia.

He is allowed a one-hour visit each month in which visitors are able to bring him food items that are screened. He is allowed to make one 10-minute call home each month.

In November 2024, a family member who spoke on condition of anonymity with VOA, said that despite the situation, Pham Chi Dung was resolute as he marked five years behind bars.

“Maybe because the time spent in prison was quite long, his spirit seemed full of endurance and acceptance of fate as he is going to mark five years in jail, out of 15 years of the difficult and challenging journey that he has to go through,” the family member told VOA.

Last updated February 26, 2026