A pro-democracy group has accused Vietnam of abducting two of its members, an Australian and a Norwegian citizen, from Cambodia and forcibly returning them to Vietnam. Vietnamese authorities confirmed the arrests, stating the men used forged documents and planned terrorist activities, but the group calls this a fabrication to conceal the abduction.
The alleged abduction of activists from one country to another by a state raises serious concerns about transnational repression, human rights violations, and the potential for such actions to destabilize regional relations and undermine international law.
A pro-democracy group, Viet Tan, has accused the Vietnamese government of abducting two of its members, an Australian and a Norwegian citizen, from Cambodia and forcibly returning them to Vietnam. Vietnamese authorities confirmed the arrests of Tran Hiep and Nguyen Duc Thuan, stating they had entered the country using forged documents and planned to carry out terrorist activities. They also claimed the men admitted to being members of Viet Tan, which Vietnam designates as a terrorist organization.
Viet Tan, however, described the arrests as a "blatant fabrication intended to conceal the fact that the Viet Tan members were abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken to Vietnam." The group stated that Tran and Nguyen had been travelling in the southern border district of Kaoh Andaet in Cambodia when they went missing on September 18. Tran's wife, Chloe Dang, told Australian media that he was meeting pro-democracy activists in Cambodia and had no intention of traveling to Vietnam. She added that he was scheduled to meet her in Bangkok for a flight back to Australia but never arrived.
A Vietnamese state media report on Monday indicated that Tran, Nguyen, and a third man, identified by authorities as Thai Cong Truong Son, were detained at the border in Tay Ninh province on September 18. The report stated the trio confessed to being members of the "terrorist organisation 'Viet Tan,' [and] carrying forged documents to illegally enter Vietnam in order to carry out terrorist and sabotage activities." They were subsequently charged with membership of a terrorist organization, with an investigation ongoing.
Viet Tan condemned the alleged actions as "transnational repression" that violates Cambodia's sovereignty and international law. Phil Robertson, Director of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, called the incident an "unacceptable outrage" and described Hanoi as a "vicious and pernicious practitioner of transnational repression." Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed that consular support was being provided to Tran's family.
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