Norwegian Thuan (52) Missing After Trip to Cambodia

Norwegian Thuan Duc Nguyen has been missing in Cambodia since Friday. The family fears the human rights advocate may have been arrested.

Thuan Duc Nguyen (52), Norwegian citizen and resident in Oslo with a wife and two children, has been missing in Cambodia since Friday, September 18.

On September 15, he traveled to the capital Phnom Penh in Cambodia from Bangkok, together with Hiep Tran (51), an Australian citizen.

Both have Vietnamese backgrounds. In Cambodia, the two were to meet Vietnamese human rights activists, according to the families and the organization Viet Tan.

The last contact with the two was on the morning of Friday, September 18. On Saturday, September 19, they were scheduled to return to Bangkok on a Cambodia Airways flight, but neither of them showed up for departure.

Thuan's family has notified Norwegian police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies. A submission has also been sent to the UN working group on enforced or involuntary disappearances, according to the family and Viet Tan.

Nguyen's brother, Thien Duc Nguyen, speaks on behalf of the family and says they fear something serious may have happened.

– He has diabetes and depends on daily insulin injections. It is urgent to find out where he is, says his brother.

– Could Become Critical

The brother recounts that the last contact the family is aware of was when the 52-year-old sent an emoji to his wife shortly after midnight on September 18.

– The last communication with him was completely normal, and there was nothing to suggest that anything was wrong or that he felt threatened. Since then we have heard nothing.

– We have tried to call, but cannot get through. It appears the phone is turned off, says his brother.

Thuan was scheduled to come home on Monday, September 21. According to his brother, he usually takes some extra insulin when traveling, but the family now fears the medicines may be running out.

– He usually took insulin for a few extra days with him. Now we are several days past the date he was supposed to be back. If we don't find him soon, it could become critical, says Nguyen.

The brother says that Thuan previously donated one of his kidneys to one of his brothers. The family therefore believes that the health situation makes the disappearance especially serious.

– It makes the situation even more worrying, he says.

Fear of Arrest

Thuan has been engaged for several years in work related to human rights, democracy and religious freedom in Vietnam. He is a member of Viet Tan, a pro-democracy organization with Vietnamese background.

The brother says the family was aware that the work Thuan did could entail a risk, particularly when traveling in Southeast Asia.

– We and the family are aware that there is a risk to do such work against the Vietnamese regime. When you travel to Thailand or Cambodia, you are more exposed. But you never think it will actually happen, says Nguyen.

He says the family does not know where his brother may have been staying the last night.

– We know where he was before, but he changed location the last evening. After that we don't know where he was. That makes him harder to trace, says his brother.

The organization he was traveling for, Viet Tan, believes the disappearance does not appear to be an ordinary missing person case.

– Thuan is a human rights advocate. His activities are largely about maintaining contact with activists from Vietnam, including activists who live in Thailand and Cambodia. It entails a risk to work in these countries, says Helena Huong Nguyen, media contact for Viet Tan in Europe, to TV 2.

Fear That Thuan Has Been Taken to Vietnam

She says the organization fears the disappearance may be connected to what it describes as transnational repression – critics and activists being persecuted outside Vietnam.

– It is our fear, but we cannot say that is what has happened. We do not know the truth yet, says Huong Nguyen.

The organization Viet Tan points to what they describe as previous cases where Vietnamese activists abroad have been subjected to, among other things, pressure, alleged abductions and imprisonment.

They fear that Thuan may have been taken to Vietnam, but have no documentation that this is what has happened.

– In previous cases, activists have been taken back to Vietnam and received long prison sentences. That is what we fear, but we do not know what has happened to Thuan, says Huong Nguyen.

According to the organization Viet Tan, the trip to Cambodia was related to meetings with Vietnamese activists.

Hope for New Leads

The family hopes that publicity around the case can help find Thuan and Hiep Tran.

– We hope that the attention can lead to tips or that other actors can help us find leads. We also hope that the media can pressure the right authorities so that we get more information about what has happened, says Nguyen.

He emphasizes that the family does not yet know what has happened to his older brother.

– There is incredible uncertainty. Many thoughts and scenarios go through your head. But nothing is confirmed, and it is difficult, he says.

Kripos Assists

Kripos states that they are aware of the case, and that the police in Cambodia have asked Norwegian police for assistance.

– Yes, Kripos is aware of the case. The police in Cambodia have asked Norwegian police for assistance, says section leader Birgit Dramdal Haukland in Kripos to TV 2.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that they are aware that a Norwegian citizen is missing in Cambodia, but will not comment further on the case.

– We are aware that a Norwegian citizen is missing in Cambodia. Due to confidentiality and privacy, we cannot provide further comments, the UD states to TV 2.

TV 2 has sent an inquiry to the police in Cambodia, but has not yet received a response.