On January 26, 2022, the Appellate Court of Can Tho City conducted an appeal hearing in the case of five journalists belonging to Bao Sach (Clean Newspaper), state media reported. Truong Chau Huu Danh, Doan Kien Giang, Nguyen Phuoc Trung Bao, Nguyen Thanh Nha, and Le The Thang appealed their convictions. In October 2021, Vietnam sentenced them totally to nearly 15 years of imprisonment.

These five Bao Sach’s journalists were prosecuted under Article 331 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code. This law code criminalizes activities of “abusing democratic freedom to infringe on the state’s interests and individuals’ legal rights.”