Two ethnically Vietnamese Catholic activists, one a citizen of Australia and the other Norwegian, who vanished in Cambodia this month have surfaced in the custody of Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security, which claimed they had joined a “terrorist organization” and were arrested while trying to illegally enter Vietnam.
The detainees are a 50-year-old Australian national named Ho Pham Hiep Huy, also known as Tran Hiep, and 52-year-old Norwegian national Nguyen Duc Thuan. They were reportedly arrested by Vietnamese security forces on September 18 while attempting to cross the border from Cambodia in the company of a 46-year-old man from Thailand named Thai Cong Truong Son.
All three were reportedly members of a U.S.-based pro-democracy group called Viet Tan, which the Vietnamese Communist government regards as a terrorist organization. Viet Tan says its goal is to “establish democracy and reform Vietnam through peaceful means.”
Other human rights groups strongly dispute Hanoi’s characterization of Viet Tan as a terrorist threat. Human Rights Watch (HRW), for example, says Viet Tan “operates openly and lawfully in many countries,” but has been “arbitrarily” slapped with the terrorist label by the Hanoi government in an effort to suppress dissent.
Viet Tan announced Hiep and Thuan went missing in Cambodia on September 18. The group noted both men have wives back home in Norway and Australia and Thuan also has two children. The statement described both men as human rights and democracy activists and credited Hiep with helping to “provide digital security training” for other activists.
“The disappearance of these two human rights defenders has caused deep concern among their families and their colleagues in Viet Tan,” the statement said.
Viet Tan added that Thuan is “diabetic and requires daily insulin injections,” so he “must be guaranteed full access to medication and medical care.”
Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security said Thuan, Hiep, and Son were under investigation for “terrorism” and “forging seals and documents of agencies and organizations” because they tried to “illegally enter Vietnam to conduct terrorist and sabotage activities” while “carrying fake documents.”
According to the Viet Tan organization, Thuan and Hiep arrived in Cambodia on September 15 and were due to depart on September 19. They were declared missing after failing to board their flights home. The purpose of their trip was to meet with other activists in Cambodia and they had no declared plans to enter Vietnam.
Tran’s wife, Chloe Dang, told Australian reporters he was supposed to meet her in Bangkok to fly home to Australia and had no intention of going to Vietnam.
“He always knew there was a risk doing human rights work, but we never thought that this would happen,” she said.
“Viet Tan strongly condemns the abduction of two of its members in Cambodia and the fabricated charges issued by the Vietnamese communist authorities to cover up an act of transnational repression,” the group said in a statement Monday.
“This act of transnational repression followed by fabricated charges demonstrates just how brutish and lawless the To Lam regime really is,” said Viet Tan executive director Duy Hoang.
“Transnational repression is an affront to the rule of law, sovereignty and common decency. Every Australian or Norwegian investor or businessperson should think twice before trusting the promises of the Vietnamese government,” Hoang added.
Hoang said both Hiep and Thuan are Catholic, and Catholic prayer vigils have been held for them.
As of Tuesday, Viet Tan had not confirmed if Son was also a member.
Viet Tan said the allegations of Thuan and Hiep trying to enter Vietnam with fake documents were “a blatant fabrication intended to conceal the fact that the Viet Tan members were abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken to Vietnam” – a tactic used with alarming frequency by authoritarian Vietnamese Communist Party chief To Lam to suppress dissent.
Viet Tan released a report last week accusing To Lam and his officials of pursuing “critics and human rights defenders beyond Vietnam’s borders.”
“Repression is no longer confined to Vietnamese territory, but increasingly targets political exiles, refugees, bloggers, human rights defenders, and members of the Vietnamese diaspora residing in democratic countries,” the report said.
Other human rights groups quickly stepped forward to defend the Viet Tan activists.
“Vietnamese authorities’ confirmation that they detained human rights and democracy activists Nguyen Duc Thuan and Tran Hiep demonstrates yet again that Hanoi is arguably the most vicious and pernicious practitioner of transnational repression today in Southeast Asia,” said Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates director Phil Robertson.
“Norway and Australia, whose nationals were abducted, should lead a global effort to penalize Vietnam’s flouting of both international human rights law and the sovereignty of neighboring states, and demand the immediate and unconditional release of these two men,” Robertson said.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it is “making urgent inquiries with Vietnamese authorities to confirm reports that an Australian citizen has been detained,” while Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said consular services were being provided to Hieps’ family.
“That’s what Australian governments do for our citizens. And we’ll continue to engage directly with the family,” Albanese said.
Hiep’s wife Chloe told the UK Guardian the family was “really worried about his safety.”
“My husband deserves protection, and I really hope the Australian government will continue to put pressure on Cambodia to do an investigation to find out where he is right now,” she said.