Activists believed abducted in Cambodia and now detained in Vietnam – Serious case of transnational repression raised with the UN, OSCE and Council of Europe

On 18 September 2026, Norwegian citizen Thuan Duc Nguyen and Australian citizen Tran Hiep disappeared in Cambodia. The two men, activists with the pro-democracy organisation Viet Tan, are strongly believed to have been abducted on Cambodian soil and rendered to Vietnam. They are now in Vietnamese custody facing allegations of terrorism for their association with Viet Tan.

Details are set out in Thuan’s Norwegian lawyers’ statement announcing a criminal complaint in Norway, which has jurisdiction to prosecute on the basis of Thuan’s Norwegian nationality.

Since that complaint, Hiep reported to Australian officials during a consular visit that ‘_I never crossed the border_’ and that he was ‘_terrified and traumatized from being attacked and kidnapped in Cambodia_’.

Numerous organizations have expressed concern, including Freedom House, Article 19 and Human Rights Watch, the latter observing that ‘_the apparent abduction … raises many questions about the roles of both the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments_’.

Alex Tinsley of Doughty Street, international counsel instructed by the families, has raised this case within United Nations, including the Special Procedures, and European institutions which have key roles in framing the international responses to transnational repression (TNR).

Counsel’s most recent letter, carried on the Free Thuan and Hiep site, explains why this case represents an escalation of TNR and why Norway and Australia must be encouraged to respond strongly to it at both law enforcement and political levels.

Alex is instructed public access for international advocacy together with Michael Polak (Justice Abroad). In Norway, Thuan’s family are represented by Maria Hessen Jacobsen and Aleksander Hatlem. In Australia, Hiep’s family are represented by Alison Battison.