Pham Doan Trang, co-founder of The Vietnamese and Luat Khoa magazines, is listed as one of the 10 international journalists, whose press freedom case is classified as “Most Urgent” by the One Free Press Coalition.
- Title: 10 journalists who deserve justice immediately
- Publish Date: March 2, 2020
- Publisher: Fortune
Excerpt:
The last thing journalists seek when they go behind the scenes of a story is to end up behind bars. But for many reporters, harsh interrogation, wrongful arrest, and brutal assault are all possible realities of doing one’s job.
Even today, as the world is in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China, journalists who have reported on the situation have been punished for doing so. Chen Qiushi, a video journalist who revealed that hospitals in China were struggling to deal with the virus, has not been seen since Feb. 6. Meanwhile, three other journalists, who wrote an opinion piece regarding the crisis, have been expelled by the Chinese government.
When it comes to fighting a virus that has threatened public health, caused profits to plummet, and hit global markets hard, cracking down on free press does nothing to address the crisis at hand and only puts more people’s lives at risk. That’s only one of the reasons why Fortune remains committed to fighting for fellow journalists—and why publishing this monthly list of the “10 Most Urgent” press freedom cases is a moral imperative.
The One Free Press Coalition (OFPC) compiles the list (below), in partnership with the Center for Press Justice (CPJ) and the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF). This month marks one year of these organizations’ efforts to circulate their list. While some journalists have received justice since appearing on these lists, other cases remain unresolved, and new cases continue to arise. (You can read last month’s list here.)
8. Pham Doan Trang (Vietnam)
Journalist in hiding to evade arrest continues reporting.
Phan Doan Trang has been in hiding since August 2018, after Ho Chi Minh City police brutally beat her and confiscated her national ID card, on top of silencing measures including interrogation, monitoring and shutting off her internet and electricity. A colleague reports that Trang, cofounder of The Vietnamese and Luat Khoa news publications, has not fully recuperated from the assault and her health has deteriorated. While moving between safe houses, she has continued critical reporting on the environment, freedom of religion and online civil society.
Download: