Vietnam arrests 3 men including a Norwegian and an Australian citizens

[Reuters, 29th] – Vietnamese police have arrested three men on suspicion of terrorism, including one Norwegian national and one Australian national of Vietnamese descent.

On the 28th, Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security announced the names of the three as Nguyen Duc Thuan, Ho Pham Hiep Huy and Thai Cong Truong Son, and explained that they were arrested on the 18th of this month when they attempted to enter Vietnam illegally from Cambodia.

The three reportedly admitted to being members of “Viet Tan,” a US-based pro-democracy group. The Vietnamese government has designated the group as a terrorist organization.

The ministry said the three were “attempting to enter Vietnam illegally in order to carry out terrorism and sabotage activities.”

They are also suspected of forging seals and documents. Thuan, born in 1974, was carrying a Norwegian passport, and Huy, born in 1975, was carrying an Australian passport. The ministry did not disclose Son’s nationality, but stated that he was born in 1980.

In a statement on the night of the 28th, Viet Tan said that Thuan and Huy had been abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken to Vietnam.

Australian Prime Minister Albanese told reporters that the government is providing consular assistance to Huy and his family.

Viet Tan stated that it “strongly condemns the charges fabricated by the Vietnamese Communist Party authorities to cover up the abduction of two of its members in Cambodia and the cross-border repression.” It then called on the Norwegian and Australian governments and international human rights groups to urge the Vietnamese government to release the two immediately and unconditionally.

Vietnamese authorities said their investigation is continuing and that the three will be prosecuted in accordance with the law.