Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV) Co-founder, Pham Doan Trang, was included in the list of political prisoners who are part of the United States’ #WithoutJustCause initiative. She is joined by 16 other human rights defenders from all over the world and their stories are published to bring awareness towards “growing authoritarian efforts to silence dissent and suppress fundamental freedoms.”
In the campaign, Pham Doan Trang is highlighted as being a recipient of the 2022 Woman of Courage award and a “renowned journalist and author” who fought for “human rights, rule of law, and a more inclusive Vietnam.” In December 2021, she was sentenced to 9 years imprisonment under Article 88 of Vietnam’s 1999 Penal Code for “making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” at the conclusion of a one-day trial.
The #WithoutJustCause campaign was launched on January 11, 2023. It is an effort by the United States to fulfill the commitments made during the 2021 Summit for Democracy, which aims to “build a broader community of partners committed to global democratic renewal.” During this event, over 750 commitments and promises were made by the United States and its partners.
The next summit will be held in March 2023; it will be co-hosted by current United States President, Joe Biden, along with the governments of Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Zambia.
The United States is actively advocating for the release of Pham Doan Trang and the 16 other imprisoned human rights defenders who are part of the #WithoutJustCause campaign. Likewise, they are calling on everyone do to their part in their own small way.
