Vietnam confirms arrest of Viet Tan members who went missing in Cambodia

On September 28, 2026, Vietnamese media reported that “three members of the terrorist organization Viet Tan” had been arrested and prosecuted for “carrying fake documents to enter Vietnam illegally in order to carry out terrorist and sabotage activities.” In response, Viet Tan condemned “a blatant slander intended to cover up the fact that Viet Tan members were abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken to Vietnam.”

In its September 28 statement, Viet Tan said that two members, Nguyen Duc Thuan (a Norwegian citizen) and Tran Hiep (an Australian citizen), had gone missing in Cambodia on the morning of September 18 while on their way to Kaoh Andaet. The organization asserted that “these members had no intention of entering Vietnam” and described the incident as “transnational repression,” a violation of Cambodian sovereignty and international law.

Meanwhile, Vietnamese police said that on the evening of September 18, Tay Ninh border guards arrested three people entering illegally from Cambodia: Nguyen Duc Thuan, Ho Pham Hiep Huy and Thai Cong Truong Son. The authorities said Mr. Thuan carried two fake citizen identity cards and a Norwegian passport, while Mr. Huy had an Australian passport in the name of Tran Hiep, but they gave no information about the nationality of Mr. Son, born in 1980. Investigators said all three confessed to being members of Viet Tan (headquartered in the United States), which Vietnam has put on its list of “terrorist organizations,” and to using fake documents and entering illegally in order to carry out “terrorist and sabotage” activities.

According to Reuters on September 29, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters that Canberra is providing consular assistance to Mr. Huy and his family. The Norwegian embassy in Hanoi referred questions about the case to the government in Oslo, while the Cambodian side said it had no information about the arrests.

On September 29, Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights & Labour Advocates (AHRLA), condemned “President (General) To Lam, who is running a ruthless police state, ready to trample on human rights while seeking to expand business relations with the world.” He called on “Norway and Australia, the countries of the abducted men,” to pressure Vietnam to release the two citizens immediately and unconditionally.