Vietnam: Independent Journalist Nguyen Hoang Vi Allegedly Assaulted While in Police Detention

Last updated: 16 September 2026

Independent journalist Nguyen Hoang Vi was allegedly assaulted by Ho Chi Minh City police. (Photo: Courtesy of Nguyen Hoang Vi)

The Committee to Protect Journalists called on March 23, 2026 on Vietnamese authorities to investigate the alleged assault and arbitrary detention of independent journalist Nguyen Hoang Vi by Ho Chi Minh City police. On March 19, Vi was intercepted on the street by police while taking her child to school. She was detained and, according to CPJ, allegedly assaulted while in custody. The case reflects an intensifying pattern of Vietnamese authorities using arbitrary detention and physical violence against independent journalists and bloggers who report on politically sensitive subjects.

The Incident

Nguyen Hoang Vi is a freelance journalist and blogger known for reporting on human rights conditions in Vietnam, including the cases of political prisoners. On March 19, Ho Chi Minh City police intercepted her on the street while she was taking her child to school. She was taken into detention and, according to CPJ, was allegedly assaulted while in police custody.

This was not Vi's first encounter with the Vietnamese security apparatus. Independent journalists and bloggers who cover human rights, land rights, and corruption in Vietnam have faced systematic harassment, arbitrary detention, and prosecution under broadly worded laws on "anti-state propaganda" and "disturbing public order."

Vietnam's Press Freedom Record

Vietnam is one of the world's largest jailers of journalists. The ruling Communist Party of Vietnam maintains a state monopoly on all domestic media. Independent online journalism and blogging — which has provided an alternative source of information for many Vietnamese citizens — has been met with an escalating crackdown. Journalists and bloggers have been prosecuted under Articles 117 and 331 of the Penal Code, which criminalise activities deemed to threaten national security or "abuse democratic freedoms."

CPJ documented multiple cases of journalists detained in Vietnam in 2025 and early 2026. The International Federation of Journalists' 2025 Global Rights Index ranked Vietnam among the countries with the most severe restrictions on press freedom in the Asia-Pacific region.

CPJ Demands

CPJ called on Vietnamese authorities to immediately investigate the alleged assault on Nguyen Hoang Vi while in police custody, hold those responsible to account, and release her immediately if she remains detained without lawful charge. The organisation also called on Vietnam to cease the practice of intercepting and detaining journalists without legal basis and to ensure that members of the press can work freely without fear of physical violence or arbitrary detention.

Source: Committee to Protect Journalists — Vietnamese journalist Nguyen Hoang Vi allegedly assaulted while in police detention (March 23, 2026)