Norwegian Arrested: - They Have Tightened Their Grip

The situation for political opposition has reportedly deteriorated significantly under Vietnam's president To Lam. Now Norwegian-Vietnamese Thuan Nguyen (52) sits detained.

WORSENED: The situation for opposition figures has deteriorated further under president To Lam's leadership. Here he is with his wife Ngo Phuong Ly during an official visit to Moscow earlier in September. Photo: Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP / NTB

On Monday, Vietnamese authorities confirmed that the missing Norwegian-Vietnamese Thuan Nguyen (52) is among three people arrested by Vietnamese police.

Also arrested are Australian-Vietnamese Tran Hiep (50), and a man identified by authorities as Thai Cong Truong Son (46).

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Nguyen and Hiep are activists in the USA-based international organisation Viet Tan. Both the organisation and Vietnamese authorities confirm this.

According to several human rights organisations, the situation for Vietnamese dissidents and activists has deteriorated significantly in recent years.

"Opposition Party"

Viet Tan works for human rights and democracy in Vietnam. On their own website, the organisation writes that their goal is to "overcome dictatorship and build the foundation for sustainable democracy", and that they are committed to peaceful, non-violent struggle.

Human Rights Watch has previously described Viet Tan as "an opposition party" that operates openly and legally in numerous countries, but which the communist one-party regime in Vietnam labels as a terrorist organisation at its own discretion.

! was arrested together with Norwegian-Vietnamese Thuan Nguyen (52). Photo: Viet Tan")

Nguyen and Hiep had been in Vietnam's neighbouring country Cambodia for three days to meet with other Vietnamese activists in the organisation when the two were reported missing on 18 September.

It was Hiep's wife who raised the alarm when her husband never showed up at Bangkok airport as planned, and it turned out that Hiep and Nguyen had never boarded the plane.

It is unclear whether the third Vietnamese-born man is also a member of Viet Tan.

In addition to being an activist in Viet Tan, Australian Hiep is also founder of the Australia-based organisation Australian Alliance to Combat Human Trafficing, according to The Guardian.

- They Have Tightened Up

The communist regime in Vietnam has reportedly significantly escalated its actions against critics in recent years, and according to Washington Post, this has sent numerous activists, lawyers and journalists into exile.

The escalation is seen in connection with president To Lam coming to power. First as general secretary of the communist party in 2024, and later also as president. He has been a member of the communist party for decades.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), at least 160 political prisoners were already detained in Vietnam at the time Nguyen, Hiep and Son were imprisoned, and activists daily experience police harassment, threats, surveillance and interrogation.

According to the organisation, at least 28 activists have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms so far in 2026, while a further 39 other people have been arrested. This was before the arrest of Nguyen, Hiep, and Son. According to HRW, this was for having criticised the government or been associated with an unwanted political or religious group.

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• It is not uncommon for activists to receive prison sentences of 15 to 20 years, says Viet Tan representative Phong Nguyen to Sydney Morning Herald.

Both civil society groups and UN human rights experts have also repeatedly warned of increased cooperation between Vietnamese authorities and neighbouring countries targeting dissidents.

According to Viet Tan, there have also been several previous examples of Vietnamese dissidents disappearing in neighbouring countries only to turn up in custody in Vietnam.

• Viet Tan is particularly concerned that president To Lam's police state uses its security apparatus to persecute and suppress activists and foreign nationals even outside Vietnam's borders, the organisation states, among other things.

- A Difficult Case

Thuan Duc Nguyen is a Norwegian citizen, residing in Oslo with his wife and two children and also has other family in Oslo.

After the two had been missing for 11 days, Vietnamese authorities said on Monday that they are arrested.

According to police, the three men were allegedly arrested by border guards at 21:50 on 18 September when they were attempting to illegally enter Vietnam from Cambodia. The next day they were handed over to Vietnamese police, which then took 10 days to report the arrests in a statement.

The Foreign Ministry tells Dagbladet that they have great understanding that this case is a very difficult matter for all involved and that the Foreign Service at the embassy in Hanoi and the Foreign Ministry are providing consular assistance in the matter.

• We are in contact with local authorities and our Australian colleagues. We have formally confirmed the imprisonment and are working to establish direct contact with those detained. We are also continuing to convey the family's concern for his health, says Foreign Ministry spokesperson Cecilie Roang on Friday.

The Foreign Ministry has also stated that the Foreign Ministry prioritises this case highly, but that due to confidentiality obligations they cannot go into further details at this time.

Norway's embassy in Hanoi refers to the Foreign Ministry.

Dagbladet has been in contact with Thuan Nguyen's family, who do not wish to make further statements at this time.

Charged with Terrorism

According to Vietnamese police, the three men allegedly admitted during interrogation that they had false documents with them and entered Vietnam illegally to carry out terrorist and sabotage activities.

They are now charged with terrorism and document forgery.

Viet Tan is clear that the information from authorities about them attempting to enter Vietnam is not true. Hiep's wife also says the same.

Instead, they claim that the men disappeared in Cambodia on the morning of 18 September while they were on their way to Kaoh Andaet, an area in southern Cambodia near the Vietnamese border. They are thus clear that the two have been abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken to Vietnam.

• The claim that they illegally crossed the border is an obvious fabrication to cover up the abduction, writes Viet Tan.

The organisation further states that they strongly condemn the abduction and "the fabricated charges brought by the Vietnamese communist authorities to cover up an act of transnational repression".