Vietnam charges two missing activists over alleged border crossing

• Vietnam says three men were caught entering from Cambodia on 18 September and ordered held in pre-trial detention on 28 September.¹
• The two activists’ families say they last heard from them on the morning of 18 September. The men did not board a flight from Phnom Penh the following day, according to the family appeal.²
• Viet Tan alleges the pair were abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken across the border. Vietnam says they entered illegally.³
• Australia was making urgent inquiries about Hiep’s reported detention; the men’s whereabouts and access to lawyers or consular officials have not been confirmed in the reporting reviewed.⁴

Vietnam says it charged Tran Hiep, an Australian citizen, and Nguyen Duc Thuan, a Norwegian citizen, with terrorism and forging official documents. A third man, Thai Cong Truong Son, was charged alongside them. Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security says the three were ordered held in pre-trial detention on 28 September.¹

The ministry’s account places their arrest almost two weeks earlier. It says border guards caught the men at 9.50pm on 18 September, as they entered Vietnam from Cambodia near Mỹ Quý Tây in Tây Ninh province. It alleges they carried forged documents and intended to conduct terrorist activities. Those are the authorities’ allegations; the documents and evidence have not been independently examined.¹

The timing leaves a crucial stretch unexplained. Hiep’s wife and Thuan’s family say they last spoke with the men on the morning of 18 September. The family appeal says they were due to fly from Phnom Penh to Bangkok at 10.30am the next day, but did not board. Their account cites confirmation from the airline, which reporters have not independently examined.²

Viet Tan says the men were travelling in Cambodia when they disappeared and were abducted by Vietnamese authorities. The group rejects Vietnam’s account that they intended to enter the country. Cambodia-based outlet Kiripost reported on the disappearance before Vietnam announced the charges, drawing on an interview with Viet Tan’s executive director and family information; Cambodia’s Interior Ministry spokesperson did not respond to its requests for comment.³⁵

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was making urgent inquiries with Vietnamese authorities, the ABC reported, and providing consular support to Hiep’s family. That does not establish whether officials have met either man. The available reporting also does not establish where they are being held or whether they have lawyers. The third man’s relationship to Hiep and Thuan is unclear.⁴

Footnotes

1. Vietnam Government Portal, report on the three cases. ↩ ↩² ↩³

2. Families’ appeal, published by Viet Tan. ↩ ↩²

3. Viet Tan’s statement rejecting Vietnam’s account. ↩ ↩²

4. ABC News report on the charges and Australian consular inquiries. ↩ ↩²

5. Kiripost’s report on the men’s disappearance. ↩