Tran Hiep.
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(Bangkok) – The Vietnamese authorities should immediately release three activists associated with the overseas Viet Tan organization who went missing in Cambodia, and drop all charges against them, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should also grant Norwegian and Australian consular officials and family members immediate access to the detained men.
The Vietnamese police claim that Nguyen Duc Thuan, a Norwegian citizen; Tran Hiep (also known as Ho Pham Hiep Huy), an Australian citizen; and Thai Cong Truong Son are members of the outlawed Viet Tan organization and attempted to use fake documents to cross the border from Cambodia to Vietnam on September 18, 2026. The men’s relatives say they never attempted to enter Vietnam.
The police announced that they have charged the three men with “terrorism” under article 299 of the penal code for their association with Viet Tan and with forgery of seals and documents under article 341. Viet Tan is an overseas political organization that advocates for democratic change in Vietnam. It contends that the men were abducted in Cambodia.
“The apparent abduction and detention of the foreign nationals raises many questions about the roles of both the Vietnamese and Cambodian governments,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Norwegian and Australian governments should press the Vietnamese authorities to grant them immediate access to their nationals and to drop baseless charges against them.”
Nguyen Duc Thuan and Tran Hiep flew to Phnom Penh on September 15 and were reportedly in regular contact with family members outside of Cambodia until the morning of September 18, after which neither could be reached. Both men missed other scheduled appointments in Cambodia and the flight they had booked to leave Cambodia on September 19; they have not been
