Vietnamese authorities have launched criminal proceedings against three men, including a Norwegian and an Australian citizen, who disappeared in Cambodia last month and are now detained in Vietnam on charges of terrorism and document forgery. The case has drawn sharp condemnation from human rights organizations, which allege the men were abducted by Vietnamese security forces and forcibly returned to Vietnam, marking another instance of transnational repression.
According to their families, Nguyen Duc Thuan, a Norwegian citizen, and Ho Pham Hiep Huy, also known as Tran Hiep, an Australian citizen, traveled from Bangkok to Phnom Penh on September 15 to meet with Vietnamese human rights activists. More than a week later, their families reported that the two men had been missing since September 18 and appealed to the online community for help locating them. On September 28, Vietnamese state media reported that the Security Investigation Agency under the Ministry of Public Security had initiated criminal proceedings against Nguyen Duc Thuan, Ho Pham Hiep Huy, and Thai Cong Truong Son and ordered their detention. The three face charges of “terrorism” under Article 299 and “forging seals or documents of agencies or organizations” under Article 341 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.
Vietnamese authorities claim the men were arrested on September 18 while illegally entering Vietnam from Cambodia. However, Thuan and Huy are human rights activists and members of Viet Tan, a U.S.-based organization advocating for democracy and human rights that the Vietnamese government has designated a “terrorist” organization. The circumstances surrounding their disappearance and reported “illegal entry” echo previous cases of Vietnamese dissidents who vanished abroad and later reappeared in Vietnamese custody, including Chu Tuan Anh, allegedly abducted in Laos in January 2026; YouTuber Duong Van Thai, who disappeared near Bangkok in 2023; journalist Truong Duy Nhat, missing in Thailand since 2019; and former oil executive Trinh Xuan Thanh, abducted in Berlin in 2017.
The Vietnam Human Rights Network and Defend the Defenders believe that Thuan and Huy were abducted in Cambodia by Vietnamese security forces, forcibly returned to Vietnam, and then presented as having been arrested for illegal entry. The groups are concerned that their detention and prosecution are intended to punish them for their peaceful human rights and pro-democracy activities and may represent another instance of transnational repression. They are calling on the Vietnamese government to release Thuan, Huy, and Thai Cong Truong Son, drop all charges, and allow them to reunite with their families without delay. They also urge Cambodian authorities to investigate the disappearances from Cambodian territory, including allegations of involvement by Vietnamese security forces, and to take effective measures to protect human rights activists in Cambodia, regardless of nationality. Additionally, they call on the governments of Australia and Norway to take all appropriate measures, including consular protection, to safeguard the rights and interests of their citizens detained in Vietnam. Finally, they urge the United Nations and democratic governments to press Vietnam to end transnational repression and cease the abduction and forcible return of dissidents and human rights activists from other countries.
The case underscores growing concerns over Vietnam’s cross-border crackdown on dissent, which threatens the safety of activists beyond its borders and tests the willingness of other nations to protect their citizens from such abuses.
