Vietnam's Communist Party regime documented 56 arrests of activists and dissidents in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of increases and doubling the number from 2022. These arrests, driven by broadly written laws, increasingly target ordinary citizens voicing grievances against state and local officials, according to a new analysis by The 88 Project. The human rights group, focused on Vietnam, warns that the actual number of those silenced is likely far higher.
Leader To Lam, who has served as general secretary of the Communist Party since 2024 and was elected president earlier this year, routinely weaponizes criminal law to quash any form of dissent. The country, under his ascendancy, has become a literal police state that tolerates no opposition, according to 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 could engage in policy activism.
Elite Consolidation of Power
The regime's crackdown is largely fueled by fears of a “color revolution,” a term used to describe popular uprisings against established leadership, such as Ukraine's Orange Revolution 22 years ago or the Philippines' Yellow Revolution 40 years ago. This fear isn't unique to Hanoi; the Communist Party in neighboring China shares it, employing similar tactics to stifle critics within its borders. Despite occasional diplomatic tensions over maritime claims, China and Vietnam agreed earlier this year to prioritize political security and enhance efforts to prevent and resist color revolutions, as reported by the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency. This pact solidifies an elite-driven agenda to suppress popular movements across the region.
Authorities are increasingly relying on Article 331 of Vietnam’s penal code, a law previously little used. This statute makes it a crime, punishable by up to seven years in prison, to “abuse democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the state.” Human Rights Watch reported last year that authorities have enlarged the scope and application of Article 331. It now reaches further into society, extending beyond human rights and democracy dissidents to encompass all those who voice any grievance with state or local Communist Party and government officials.
Silencing the People
The expanded application of Article 331 represents a little known facet of the government’s crackdown on ordinary people. These citizens 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, Human Rights Watch stated. The regime's Foreign Ministry has not responded to requests for comment on these findings.
Among those arrested under Article 331 last year were three men behind the YouTube channel “Nguoi Da Tin” — The Messenger. They faced allegations that videos they uploaded contained “distorted content” violating the statute, The 88 Project reported. The regime also arrested an activist for the minority Montagnard group, extraditing him to Vietnam after his arrest in Thailand. A dissident writer was accused of spreading “propaganda against the state.” Another man was arrested for helping residents of Ha Tinh province file complaints demanding fair compensation for land expropriated for a new highway. These are the voices of the people, systematically silenced.
The Cost of Dissent
The report details every politically related arrest identified in 2025, revealing alarmingly severe punishments. Longstanding targets like journalists and human rights activists face harsh penalties. The regime now displays an increasing willingness to attack groups previously thought safe, such as political exiles and legal petitioners. This systematic suppression ensures that popular grievances, particularly those concerning land rights and cultural identity, remain unheard, cementing the Communist Party's unchallenged authority over the Vietnamese people.