Jailed Vietnamese dissident Pham Doan Trang to be honored by PEN America
Imprisoned Vietnamese author-blogger-journalist Pham Doan Trang might be this 12 months’s recipient of PEN America’s Barbey Freedom to Write Award, given by the free expression group to a “jailed author of conscience.”
NEW YORK — Imprisoned Vietnamese author-blogger-journalist Pham Doan Trang might be this 12 months’s recipient of PEN America’s Barbey Freedom to Write Award, given by the literary and free expression group to a “jailed author of conscience.”
Trang, 45, has written a number of books, amongst them “Politics of a Police State” and “Politics for the Frequent Folks.” She has been a outstanding critic of the Vietnamese authorities and a number one advocate for democratic reform who was overwhelmed by police in 2015 and now walks with a limp. In 2020, she was arrested on expenses of “propaganda towards the state” and sentenced to 9 years in jail.
PEN, Amnesty Worldwide and Reporters With out Borders are amongst those that have condemned her remedy.
“Pham Doan Trang has galvanized the Vietnamese folks by way of her writings on democracy, human rights, environmental degradation, and ladies’s empowerment,” PEN CEO Suzanne Nossel mentioned in a press release Thursday. “The Vietnamese authorities has persecuted and jailed Trang in an effort to nonetheless her voice. She has sacrificed her well being and freedom within the pursuit of justice. Regardless of the federal government’s crackdown on dissent and activism, her highly effective phrases proceed to encourage folks throughout Vietnam and all through the world.”
Earlier Freedom to Write winners embody Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi and Ukrainian freelance journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko.
Trang’s lawyer, Dang Dinh Manh, and buddy Quynh-Vi Tran, co-founder and government director of Authorized Initiatives for Vietnam, will settle for the award on her behalf throughout PEN’s annual gala on Might 16. Different honorees will embody musician Paul Simon and Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour.
