Timeline

One month after the abductions in Cambodia, Viet Tan condemns the Vietnamese state’s transnational repression and calls on the international community to take action to secure the activists’ release.

Norwegian embassy staff visit Nguyen Duc Thuan in B34 detention facility. He reports sleeping little and poorly, and says he is receiving diabetes tablets instead of the insulin injections he needs.

Tran Hiep tells Australian Consulate-General officials that he “never entered or crossed the Vietnamese border on his own” and that he “remained terrified and traumatised by being attacked and abducted in Cambodia.”

The signatories condemn the abduction and arbitrary detention and call for the unconditional release of Thuan, Hiep and Thai Cong Truong Son, and for immediate consular access.

TV 2 reports that Norway will raise the imprisoned Norwegian’s situation with Vietnam.

HRW says the Vietnamese authorities should immediately release the three activists, drop all charges, and grant Norwegian and Australian consular officials and family members access.

Lawyer Maria Hessen Jacobsen is filing a complaint with Norwegian police over the alleged kidnapping, directed at those who acted for the Vietnamese state and at leaders who allowed it.

Consular correspondence from Vietnamese authorities tells his wife, Chloe Dang, that he is held at the B34 Detention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, in good health and “in accordance with local regulations”, according to AAP.

Cambodia’s Interior Ministry says it did not arrest or hand over the two men. It says immigration records show their arrival on 15 September and no departure.

Viet Tan condemns what it calls an abduction and “fabricated charges”. Reuters reports the arrests. Australia’s prime minister says the government is giving consular assistance to Hiep and his family.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security says Nguyen Duc Thuan, Ho Pham Hiep Huy (Tran Hiep) and Thai Cong Truong Son were arrested on 18 September entering Vietnam illegally from Cambodia. It accuses them of terrorism and says they admitted to being Viet Tan members.

Viet Tan says Nguyen Duc Thuan and Tran Hiep have been missing since 18 September. Thuan’s family tells VG that they fear a politically motivated abduction.

The families say this is not an ordinary missing persons case, given Thuan and Hiep’s longstanding human rights work in Vietnam. They have appealed to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and urged Cambodian authorities to locate them.

On the morning of 18 September the two are travelling toward southern Cambodia. Their families and colleagues hear nothing more. They do not board their flight back to Bangkok the next day.

The two men travel to Cambodia to meet Vietnamese human rights activists. They stay in regular contact with their families.

The two men travel to Cambodia to meet Vietnamese human rights activists. They stay in regular contact with their families.

On the morning of 18 September the two are travelling toward southern Cambodia. Their families and colleagues hear nothing more. They do not board their flight back to Bangkok the next day.

The families say this is not an ordinary missing persons case, given Thuan and Hiep’s longstanding human rights work in Vietnam. They have appealed to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and urged Cambodian authorities to locate them.

Viet Tan says Nguyen Duc Thuan and Tran Hiep have been missing since 18 September. Thuan’s family tells VG that they fear a politically motivated abduction.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security says Nguyen Duc Thuan, Ho Pham Hiep Huy (Tran Hiep) and Thai Cong Truong Son were arrested on 18 September entering Vietnam illegally from Cambodia. It accuses them of terrorism and says they admitted to being Viet Tan members.

Viet Tan condemns what it calls an abduction and “fabricated charges”. Reuters reports the arrests. Australia’s prime minister says the government is giving consular assistance to Hiep and his family.

Cambodia’s Interior Ministry says it did not arrest or hand over the two men. It says immigration records show their arrival on 15 September and no departure.

Consular correspondence from Vietnamese authorities tells his wife, Chloe Dang, that he is held at the B34 Detention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, in good health and “in accordance with local regulations”, according to AAP.

Lawyer Maria Hessen Jacobsen is filing a complaint with Norwegian police over the alleged kidnapping, directed at those who acted for the Vietnamese state and at leaders who allowed it.

HRW says the Vietnamese authorities should immediately release the three activists, drop all charges, and grant Norwegian and Australian consular officials and family members access.

TV 2 reports that Norway will raise the imprisoned Norwegian’s situation with Vietnam.

The signatories condemn the abduction and arbitrary detention and call for the unconditional release of Thuan, Hiep and Thai Cong Truong Son, and for immediate consular access.

Tran Hiep tells Australian Consulate-General officials that he “never entered or crossed the Vietnamese border on his own” and that he “remained terrified and traumatised by being attacked and abducted in Cambodia.”

Norwegian embassy staff visit Nguyen Duc Thuan in B34 detention facility. He reports sleeping little and poorly, and says he is receiving diabetes tablets instead of the insulin injections he needs.

One month after the abductions in Cambodia, Viet Tan condemns the Vietnamese state’s transnational repression and calls on the international community to take action to secure the activists’ release.