Vietnam's Communist government arrested 56 activists and dissidents in 2025, double the number detained in 2022, as authorities expand their use of broadly written statutes to silence critics and prevent challenges to one-party rule. The 88 Project, a human rights organization tracking political repression in Vietnam, released the findings Monday, warning that actual arrest numbers are likely much higher since the count includes only cases where defendants could be identified by name.
The crackdown intensified under To Lam, who served as the country's top security official before becoming general secretary of the Communist Party 2 years ago and winning election as president earlier this year. "With the ascendancy of To Lam, the country has become a literal police state that tolerates no dissent," said Ben Swanton, co-director of The 88 Project. "This represents a serious regression from the period of relative openness in the 2010s when some dissent was tolerated and civil society groups were able to engage in policy activism."
Fears of Color Revolution Drive Crackdown
The arrests stem largely from government fears of a popular uprising similar to Ukraine's Orange Revolution in 2004 or the Philippines' Yellow Revolution in 1986, according to the report. It's a concern Vietnam shares with neighboring China, which has faced international criticism for its own tactics suppressing dissent. Despite maritime disputes that've strained relations between Hanoi and Beijing, the two Communist governments agreed earlier this year to "prioritize political security and enhance efforts to prevent and resist color revolutions," China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
That cooperation reveals how authoritarian regimes prioritize regime survival over territorial disagreements. Vietnam's Foreign Ministry didn't respond to requests for comment on the report's findings.
Vague Law Becomes Primary Tool
Authorities increasingly rely on Article 331 of Vietnam's penal code, which criminalizes "abuse of democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state" with penalties up to seven years in prison. The statute's vague language gives officials sweeping discretion to prosecute anyone voicing grievances against Communist Party or government officials.
"Authorities have enlarged the scope and application of Article 331 so that it reaches further into society, beyond human rights and democracy dissidents ... to all those who voice any grievance with state or local Communist Party and government officials," New York-based Human Rights Watch wrote in a report last year. The organization noted that "the Vietnamese authorities' increased use of Article 331 is a little known facet of the government's expanding crackdown on ordinary people who are seeking to use social media and other peaceful means to publicly raise important social issues, including religious freedom, land rights, rights of Indigenous people, and government and Communist Party corruption."
Wide Range of Targets
Last year's arrests under Article 331 included three men behind the YouTube channel "Nguoi Da Tin' — The Messenger" on allegations their videos contained "distorted content" violating the statute. Other documented cases involved a Montagnard minority activist arrested in Thailand and extradited to Vietnam, a dissident writer accused of spreading "propaganda against the state," and a man who helped Ha Tinh province residents file complaints demanding fair compensation for land seized for highway construction.
"The Vietnamese government has dealt alarmingly severe punishments to longstanding targets like journalists and human rights activists, while displaying an increasing willingness to attack groups previously thought safe, such as political exiles and legal petitioners," the report said.
Why This Matters:
Vietnam's expanding use of vaguely worded laws to criminalize dissent demonstrates how authoritarian governments undermine the rule of law by transforming legal systems into tools of political control rather than justice. The doubling of political arrests in three years signals a government increasingly insecure about its legitimacy and willing to sacrifice economic openness for political security. For businesses and investors, this regression toward hard-line authoritarianism raises questions about property rights, contract enforcement, and the stability of Vietnam's legal framework. The cooperation between Vietnam and China on suppressing "color revolutions" also shows how Communist regimes coordinate to resist democratic pressure, prioritizing regime survival over national sovereignty concerns. When governments can imprison citizens for seven years simply for voicing grievances about corruption or land rights, no one's freedom or property is truly secure.