Vietnam confirms arrests of missing Catholic activists
By Luke Hunt
Vietnam confirms the arrests of two missing Catholic activists, who face terrorism and forgery charges after reportedly disappearing from Cambodia.
Australian, Norwegian citizens face terrorism, forgery charges after being ‘abducted from Cambodia’
This image shows friends and family holding pics of two members of Viet Tan, Tran Hiep (left) and Nguyen Duc Thuan, who have been arrested, according to Vietnamese authorities, after having gone missing in Cambodia on Sept. 18. (Photo: Instagram)
Vietnam has confirmed its security forces detained two ethnic Vietnamese Catholics — an Australian and a Norwegian — who went missing in Cambodia 11 days ago after meeting with activists from the outlawed pro-democracy movement Viet Tan.
The Ministry of Public Security said its Security Investigation Agency had initiated a criminal case against Ho Pham Hiep Huy — also known as Tran Hiep — Nguyen Duc Thuan, and a third man, Thai Cong Truong Son, claiming they were arrested while trying to illegally enter Vietnam.
“During the investigation, they confessed to being members of the terrorist organization Viet Tan and carrying fake documents to illegally enter Vietnam to conduct terrorist and sabotage activities,” Vietnam’s official state media said.
It said border guards at the My Quy Tay station in Vietnam’s southern province of Tay Ninh had “caught them red-handed” at 9:50 pm on Sept. 18 as they entered Vietnam illegally from Cambodia.
Terrorism-related charges under Clause 2, Article 299 and “forging seals and documents of agencies and organizations” under Clause 2, Article 341 of the Penal Code had been laid, it said.
Hiep, 51, from Melbourne, and Thuan, 52, from Oslo, were reported by Viet Tan as missing in Cambodia since Sept. 18, when their last contact with family was made through a phone call by Hiep to his mother about an upcoming family birthday party.
The ministry insisted all three had Vietnamese addresses, adding that Hiep, 51, lived in Ho Chi Minh City, Thuan was from Lam Dong province, while Sơn, 46, was from Dong Thap province.
United States-based Viet Tan has been banned in Vietnam and declared a designated terrorist group amid claims by the country’s communist government, led by President To Lam, that its supporters were plotting to end one-party rule. Lengthy jail terms have resulted.
“As many of us feared, the two Viet Tan members were forcibly abducted in Cambodia and taken to Vietnam. It’s absurd that the Vietnamese authorities have now charged them with illegally entering Vietnam,” Duy Hoang, executive director of Viet Tan, told UCA News.
“This act of transnational repression followed by fabricated charges demonstrates just how brutish and lawless the To Lam regime really is,” Hoang said, adding Viet Tan was working with Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Both men flew into Phnom Penh on Sept. 15 from Bangkok and were scheduled to leave Sept. 19, but they never boarded their flights, raising fears among human rights groups that they were abducted in Cambodia in the latest example of transnational repression.
“Transnational repression is an affront to the rule of law, sovereignty and common decency. Every Australian or Norwegian investor or businessperson should think twice before trusting the promises of the Vietnamese government,” Hoang said.
Catholic prayer vigils were held for both men, he said.
Human rights groups have repeatedly alleged Southeast Asian countries were doing secret deals and turning a blind eye to neighboring governments extending their reach beyond national borders to harass, abduct, prosecute and silence their critics.
Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates, said the latest arrests demonstrate Hanoi “is arguably the most vicious and pernicious practitioner of transnational repression today in Southeast Asia.”
“President To Lam is presiding over a ruthless police state that shows no hesitation in running roughshod over human rights while simultaneously seeking to expand their business links with the world,” he told UCA News.
“Norway and Australia, whose nationals were abducted, should lead a global effort to penalize Vietnam’s flouting of both international human rights law and the sovereignty of neighboring states, and demand their immediate and unconditional release.”