Phan Kim Khanh

Phan Kim Khánh was arrested on March 21, 2017 under Art. 88 for “propaganda against the Socialist state.” State-owned media, citing the Ministry of Public Security, confirmed the arrests and charges against the blogger, and also detailed the accusations against him.

Prior to his trial, he was held at the Thai Nguyen province Police detention center.

Lawyer Ha Huy Son was his defense counsel. Phan Kim Khanh met with him for the first time early September 2017. Prior to that, Khánh’s family’s effort to hire defense lawyers for him had been thwarted.

On October 25, 2017, Khanh was convicted in a four-hour trial of violating Article 88 and sentenced to six years in prison and four years of house arrest. It was unclear if he would appeal. His father was allowed in the courtroom, but others were prohibited from attending. His parents continue to support him. “If I could see Khanh now, I would tell him that his father and I have always supported what he’s done. I believe that he acted as he did because he is a patriot,” his mother said.

January 2018:

Phan Kim Khanh's family visited him on January 22 for the first time since his trial. Khanh had been transferred from Thai Nguyen province Detention Center to Nam Ha prison in Ha Nam province, which probably meant he had not appealed his sentence of 6 years imprisonment and 3 years of probation under Article 88. According to the family, Khanh was in good health and spirits.

October 2018:

On September 30, Phan Kim Khanh’s father visited him at Nam Ha detention center in Ha Nam province. Khanh’s health and spirit were good. However, he asked his father to contact his lawyer with an appeal issue. He wanted to file a complaint towards detention center of Thai Nguyen province for refusing to transfer his appeal petition, which was written and sent right after the first instance court hearing on October 25, 2017.

November 2018:

After a visit on November 11, Phan Kim Khanh's family reported that Khanh was in good health and spirits. Khanh’s family was able to send him some medicine but was having trouble in securing the detention officers’ approval to send him books, including a Bible and three bilingual books in English and Vietnamese. After Khanh argued with them, they accepted the three bilingual books but still refused to give him the Bible. Khanh continued to fight, and the authorities finally agreed to allow all four books.

January 2019:

On January 4, Phan Kim Khanh’s family visited him at Ba Sao Detention Center and received a letter. In his letter, Khanh gave his family and supporters wishes for Christmas, as well as thanks for their support. He was said to be in a good health and good spirits in spite of his darker complexion. Detention officials accepted some items from the family, including medicine, books, and one blank notebook, while refusing gloves, socks, a wool cap, and three other blank notebooks. They argued that Khanh could buy those things at their canteen.

February 2019:

Phan Kim Khanh's family and fellow activists visited him in prison on February 10, and reported that he was in good health and spirits. 

He planned to submit a formal complaint after the People's Court of Thai Nguyen did not review his petition for an appeal. His family never received any documents acknowledging the appeal that Khanh had submitted. 

March 2019:

Authorities at Ba Sao prison camp threatened to move Phan Kim Khanh to an isolated cell, and were also denying him letters and phone calls from family. These actions were allegedly in retaliation for Khanh attempting to lodge a formal complaint against authorities who had not reviewed a petition for appeal of his prison sentence.

April 2019:

Since February 12, Phan Kim Khanh has been harassed because he has denounced Thai Nguyen security forces for not allowing him to appeal his prison sentence. It believed that authorities have not sent any of Khanh's letters related his attempted appeal. Security officers in the detention center have prevented Khanh from making a phone call to his family and receiving letters. They also threatened to isolate him in a single room if he kept protesting. However, he was able to call his family on March 29 after consistently fighting for that right. Khanh warned that detention officers might try to intimidate his visitors. On March 31, a security officer met his father when he was visiting Khanh, telling him to advise Khanh not to protest against them. If he continued, he would be isolated and unable to call or meet with his family.

May 2019:

Phan Kim Khanh's father, Phan Van Dung, wrote an open letter, in which he shared the worsening condition of Khanh in prison, due to Khanh's determination to appeal the first instance trial's decision. He was threatened with isolation and no family communications if he does not stop his appeal process. 

June 2019:

After his first instance trial on October 25, 2017, Phan Kim Khanh, who was sentenced to six years in prison, filed an appeal. However, Khanh's request was ignored. Since then, he has made several efforts to request an appeal trial according to the law. Khanh's family thought Khanh decided not to appeal because of the communication difficulties. Now they think the law enforcement agency of Vietnam has blatantly acted to block his efforts to appeal.

September 2019:

On September 16, 2019, on the behalf of Phan Kim Khanh, Freedom Now and the international law firm Dechert LLP sent a petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD), accusing the Vietnamese government of violating international laws when arresting and prosecuting blogger Phan Kim Khanh. According to Freedom Now and Dechert LLP’s press release, "Phan admitted in court to have run the blogs, but said that his main purpose was to fight corruption, and he did not know that reporting on corruption constituted a crime." Khanh, a university student at the time, was then sentenced to six years in prison. He's had difficulties appealing his sentence, and he has faced mistreatment from prison authorities while attempting to lodge the formal appeal. Read the full petition to the UNWGAD, here. 

November 2019:

We interviewed Phan Kim Khanh’s mother, father, and sister, who remain steadfast in their commitment to Khanh and his innocence, now nearly three years into his prison sentence. The treatment of Khanh and his family by the authorities highlights the systematic efforts used to repress individual dissidents as well as their families, including such tactics as denying Khanh supplies and threatening him with retaliation for trying to appeal his sentence. Sharing their voices in this video, we hope to help Khanh’s family in their quest to bring his story to more international audiences. If you can assist Khanh’s family, please contact us. Watch the full interview, here. 

January 2020:

Phan Kim Khanh was in solitary confinement for allegedly "rebelling" against the prison administration. There is a noticeable deterioration in his health, possibly due to malnutrition. The family has called for the help of civil society organizations. It was also reported that Nguyen Viet Dung was also in solitary confinement for the same reason, as well as for "refusing to work." Dung and Khanh were both in solitary confinement at Ba Sao prison camp in Ha Nam prison and both were in the process of trying to appeal their sentences, but at different levels of the appellate process.

February 2021:

Phan Kim Khanh was reported to be in bad health due to being held in isolation. 

After Khanh’s trial on October 25, 2017, several international human rights organizations have made statements condemning his detention and sentencing. “Students should be encouraged to write about social and political problems—not punished,” said Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director, Brad Adams, in a statement released on October 24. “Blogging is not a crime, despite Vietnam’s repeated efforts to treat it as one. Phan Kim Khánh should be released immediately, and the Vietnamese government should recognize that Article 88 is completely inconsistent with international guarantees regarding the right to free expression,” said James Tager, Senior Manager of Free Expression Programs at PEN America, in another release.

May 2020:

Read the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention opinions on Phan Kim Khanh, in which they determine that Khanh’s arrest and detention ar arbitrary. 

Jailed Vietnamese Democracy Advocate to Submit Complaint to Court Over Appeal Filing, Radio Free Asia, February 11, 2019

Vietnamese Prison Refuses to Mail Jailed Activist’s Appeal Request, Radio Free Asia, April 2, 2019

Phan Kim Khanh’s Father’s Open Letter: “Khanh’s Health Was Badly Deteriorated”, The 88 Project, May 21, 2019

Petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, September 16, 2019

Phan Kim Khánh – Letters from Prison, The 88 Project, October 25, 2019

Two Vietnamese Prisoners of Conscience Given Solitary Confinement, Radio Free Asia, January 27, 2020

Jailed Vietnamese blogger tells family he’s in danger before call is cut off, Radio Free Asia, November 1, 2021

Interview with Phan Kim Khanh's family, The 88 Project

Opinion from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

Cựu TNLT Phan Kim Khánh: Trại giam Nam Hà buộc tù nhân lao động không công, RFA Vietnamese, March 24, 2023