Free Press and Human Rights

Ulysses was banned in America for a short time and so it is fitting that we cast a light on continuing repression of literary expression and honest journalism throughout the world.

We have petitioned in the past on behalf of writers such as Vaclav Havel, Xu Wenli, Aung San Suu Ky, Daniel Pearl, Anna Politkovskaya, and Rael Badwawi, who is still at this writing in a Saudi Arabian prison sentenced to 10 years for merely writing words of dissent.

Five booksellers disappeared from their homes in Hong Kong only to be revealed in China as “guests of the People’s Republic of China” for the simple act of publishing books critical of the political leadership. Two have been released as of this writing and international pressure continues for the remaining book sellers’ immediate release

Turkey under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has charged more than 1800 authors, cartoonists, politicians and ordinary citizens with the crime of “insulting the president” and over a thousand academics were targeted and some detained for speaking out against similar repression and government abuse of antiterrorism laws. Turkey in fact is now ranked 149th out of 180 nations for the protection of press freedoms.

2025 Ramble Prisoner of Conscience 

Pham Doan Trang is our 2026 Case for attention.   She is a Vietnamese writer, publisher, journalist, and  pro-democracy activist currently imprisoned in Vietnam due to her writings in support of human rights. Trang was arrested by authorities in October 2020, and in December 2021 the People’s Court of Hanoi sentenced her to nine years in prison for “conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.” After a court rejected her appeal in August 2022, Trang was transferred to An Phuoc Prison in Vietnam’s southern Binh Duong Province, a remote facility located 100 kilometers away from Ho Chi Minh City. Trang’s health has declined during her detention, and authorities have denied her access to medical treatment.  

October 12, 2023 – PEN America collaborated on a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) submission regarding Vietnam, detailing infringements on free expression, cultural rights, privacy, due process, and arbitrary detention, and advocating for the release of incarcerated writers and dissidents, including Pham Doan Trang.

October 12, 2022 – PEN America condemns transfer of Vietnamese writer Pham Doan Trang to remote prison. 

August 22, 2022 – Ahead of the appeal, PEN America calls for the immediate release of Vietnamese human rights defender Pham Doan Trang and expresses serious concerns for her health.

December 13, 2021 – PEN America strongly condemns the impending trial and arbitrary detention of journalist and human rights defender Pham Doan Trang.

October 27, 2021 – Ahead of Pham Doan Trang’s trial, PEN America joins 28 human rights and freedom of expression organizations calling for her immediate release.

October 10, 2020 – Following Pham Doan Trang’s arrest, PEN America condemns Trang’s arrest. 

July 14, 2020 – PEN America expresses deep concern over the threats by the Vietnamese government faced by individuals like Pham Doan Trang, who is being targeted solely for exercising her right to freedom of expression, as evidenced by Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security branding her written works as “anti-state propaganda,” forcing her to disassociate from Liberal Publishing House for safety reasons, leaving her in hiding with a high risk of arrest.

September 22, 2009 – After the temporary detention of Pham Doan Trang, PEN America expresses concerns on crackdowns on free expression in Vietnam.