Vietnam Names Two Missing Activists in Phnom Penh in Terrorism Case
By Kiripost
Two Vietnamese activists reported missing in Phnom Penh have been identified as two of three men Vietnam says it has detained and charged with terrorism and forgery offences after they allegedly crossed into Vietnam from Cambodia
Two Vietnamese activists reported missing in Phnom Penh more than a week ago have been named by Vietnamese authorities as two of three men detained and charged with terrorism and document forgery after allegedly crossing into Vietnam from Cambodia.
Nguyen Duc Thuan, 52, a Norwegian citizen, and Tran Hiep, 51, an Australian citizen, disappeared after travelling from Bangkok to Phnom Penh on September 15 and were due to leave Cambodia on September 19.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security on September 28 said its Security Investigation Agency had initiated a criminal case, indicted Nguyen Duc Thuan, Ho Pham Hiep Huy - also known as Tran Hiep - and Thai Cong Truong Son, and ordered their detention.
The three men are being investigated for “Terrorism” under Clause 2, Article 299 and “Forging seals and documents of agencies and organisations” under Clause 2, Article 341 of the Penal Code.
The identities of Thuan and Hiep correspond with those of the two men whose disappearance was reported in Phnom Penh on September 18 by Viet Tan, a Vietnamese political rights organisation.
According to Viet Tan Executive Director Duy Hoang, the pair were scheduled to leave Cambodia the following day but never boarded their flights. Their families were last in contact with them on September 18 and had “normal” conversations with both men.
Vietnamese authorities said that at 9.50pm on September 18, the My Quy Tay Border Guard Post in Tay Ninh province apprehended three people who were allegedly entering Vietnam illegally from Cambodia.
The men were identified as Nguyen Duc Thuan, born in 1974 in Lam Dong province; Ho Pham Hiep Huy , born in 1975 in Ho Chi Minh City; and Thai Cong Truong Son, born in 1980 in Dong Thap province.
According to Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security, Thuan was carrying two fake national identity cards under the name Phan Duc Trung, both bearing his photograph, as well as a Norwegian passport under the name Nguyen Duc Thuan. Hiep was carrying an Australian passport under the name Tran Hiep, according to the ministry.
Viet Tan described Thuan as a Vietnamese-Norwegian activist who has lobbied the Norwegian parliament and European Union on human rights and democracy in Vietnam.
Hiep has contributed to anti-human trafficking programmes for Vietnamese nationals and conducted digital security training for human rights activists, according to Viet Tan.
Duy previously told Kiripost that the pair had travelled to Cambodia to meet Vietnamese human rights defenders living in the country.
“They decided to meet in Cambodia because activists from Vietnam are able to travel to Cambodia, that's one of the ways that we work with activists on the ground,” Duy said, adding that he had no reason to believe the Vietnam-based activists they met were facing any problems.
On September 19, the My Quy Tay Border Guard Post handed the three individuals and the case file to the Security Investigation Agency of Tay Ninh Provincial Police.
The provincial agency subsequently handed the three suspects and the case file to the Security Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Public Security for investigation and handling according to its jurisdiction.
During the investigation, the three suspects allegedly confessed to being members of the Viet Tan organisation and to carrying forged documents to illegally enter Vietnam to carry out “terrorist and sabotage activities”, according to the Ministry of Public Security’s statement.
Based on the investigation, the ministry’s Security Investigation Agency issued the decisions to launch a criminal case, indict the three men and order their detention on September 28. The Supreme People’s Procuracy approved the decisions to initiate criminal proceedings and the detention orders on the same day.
The ministry said its Security Investigation Agency was continuing to investigate and clarify the suspects’ alleged criminal acts for handling according to the law.
Viet Tan, the pro-democracy organisation, disputed the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security's post in a statement, alleging that the pair had no intentions of going to Vietnam and thus were abducted by Vietnamese authorities.
The organisation claimed that the activists were headed toward "the Kaoh Andaet area", seeming to refer to Kaoh Andaet district in Takeo province, which borders Vietnam.
The destination described by Viet Tan would be more than 100 kilometres as the crow flies from the My Quy Tay Border Guard Post named by the Ministry of Public Security. Viet Tan also said the pair had no intention of entering Vietnam.
"This is a blatant fabrication intended to conceal the fact that the Viet Tan members were abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken to Vietnam," the statement said.
Viet Tan also alleged that this action would violate Cambodia's sovereignty, as well as constitute another act of transnational repression.
The response did not address some details from the Vietnamese government's statement, like a third person named Thai Cong Truong Son and the allegations that Thuan was carrying a fraudulent Vietnamese ID.
The organisation called on the Norwegian and Australian diplomatic corps to ensure the safety of the two individuals, adding that Thuan is diabetic and requires insulin injections daily to stay healthy. Viet Tan also urged the two nations' governments to urge Vietnam to remove the charges and release the two individuals.
\[This story has been updated with a statement from a pro-democracy organisation Viet Tan.\]