Vietnam charges 3 men with terrorism as abduction claim emerges

A Vietnamese pro-democracy organisation has alleged that two of its members, who hold Norwegian and Australian citizenship, were abducted in Cambodia and taken to the border with Vietnam, where Hanoi authorities later accused them of illegally entering the country.

Vietnam has charged the two men, along with a third alleged member of the organisation, with terrorism and document forgery, saying they were caught crossing the border from Cambodia with forged identity documents.

The organisation, Viet Tan, said the two men, Nguyen Duc Thuan and Ho Pham Hiep Huy, were reported missing in Cambodia hours before Vietnamese authorities said they were caught.

A representative told This Week in Asia on Tuesday that Thuan and Huy had entered Cambodia legally on September 15 and were due to leave on September 19.

“This was an abduction,” the representative said.

The allegation has not been independently established and Vietnamese authorities have not publicly addressed the claim that the two men disappeared inside Cambodia.

Viet Tan said the two men had not travelled to Vietnam and had used legal travel documents, pointing to their itinerary as evidence that they had planned to leave Cambodia on September 19.

The comments came a day after Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security said its Security Investigation Agency had launched criminal proceedings against Thuan, Hiep and Thai Cong Truong Son on charges of terrorism under Article 299 of the Penal Code and forging seals and documents of agencies and organisations under Article 341.

Vietnamese authorities said border guards at the My Quy Tay border station in Tay Ninh province caught the three men at about 9.50pm on September 18 while they were illegally entering Vietnam from Cambodia.

According to the ministry, Thuan, 52, was carrying two fake Vietnamese identity cards – both bearing his photograph – under the name Phan Duc Trung, and a Norwegian passport in his own name.

Huy, 51, was carrying an Australian passport in the name of Tran Hiep. Son, 46, is from Dong Thap province.

The ministry said the three men told investigators they were members of Viet Tan, which Hanoi designates as a terrorist organisation, and had carried forged documents to enter Vietnam illegally to conduct terrorist and sabotage activities.

Viet Tan describes itself as a pro-democracy political organisation advocating peaceful political change in Vietnam.

The Supreme People’s Procuracy approved the prosecution and detention orders on Monday, according to the ministry. The investigation is continuing and no court has yet ruled on the charges against the three men.

Viet Tan first raised the alarm on September 24, saying Thuan and Hiep had travelled from Bangkok to Phnom Penh on September 15 and were due to return to Bangkok on September 19.

The organisation said their last known communication was on the morning of September 18 and that they did not board their scheduled flight.

It said the two had gone to Cambodia to meet Vietnamese human rights activists.

Viet Tan has identified Thuan and Hiep as long-time members of the organisation. It says Thuan lives in Oslo with his wife and two children, while Hiep lives in Melbourne with his wife.

The organisation has urged the Norwegian and Australian governments to seek direct access to the two men and ensure their safety.

It has also said Thuan requires daily insulin for diabetes and should have continued access to medication and medical care.

The case has prompted criticism from Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates.

In a statement on Tuesday, Robertson described the arrests as an example of what he called Vietnam’s use of transnational repression. He called on Norway and Australia to seek the men’s release.

The reported timeline is central to the competing accounts.

Viet Tan says Thuan and Hiep were last in contact on the morning of September 18, while Vietnamese authorities maintain that the three men were intercepted at the border more than 12 hours later.

The organisation said the families of the two men had been in contact with Norwegian and Australian foreign ministries and embassies in Bangkok and Phnom Penh.

They also appealed to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, according to Viet Tan.

The third man, Son, has received less attention in Viet Tan’s public statements. Vietnamese authorities, however, have included him in the same investigation and said all three men admitted being Viet Tan members.

Viet Tan has publicly identified Thuan and Hiep as its members but has provided fewer details about Son.