Vietnam accused of abducting Norwegian and Australian human rights activists

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Vietnam police have arrested three people after accusing them of terrorism, including an Australian national of Vietnamese origin and a Norwegian citizen, according to the Vietnamese government.

The three men were identified by Vietnam's Ministry ‌of Public Security late on Monday as Nguyen Duc Thuan, Ho Pham Hiep Huy, and Thai Cong Truong Son. It said they were arrested on 18 September trying to cross illegally from Cambodia into ​Vietnam.

Ho Pham Hiep Huy, also known as Tran Hiep, was slated to return to Thailand to reunite with his wife Chloe Dang. The 50-year-old Australian national of Vietnamese origin is said to be a member of the pro-democracy rights group Viet Tan. He was in Cambodia with Norwegian activist Nguyen Duc Thuan to meet human rights defenders.

It said Mr Thuan, ​born in 1974, was carrying a Norwegian passport and Mr Hiep, born in 1975, was carrying an Australian passport. It did not provide further information about Mr Son's nationality, but said he was born in 1980.

The government claimed they entered the country using forged documents and intended to carry out terrorist activities. It added that the foreign nationals confessed to being members of the Viet Tan, which is recognised as a terrorist organisation within the country. It is unclear if the third man is a member of the rights group.

The pro-democracy group accused the Vietnamese government of abducting its activists while they were allegedly entering the country through the Cambodian border.

Viet Tan said it “strongly condemns the abduction of two of its members in Cambodia and the fabricated charges issued by the Vietnamese communist authorities to cover up an act of transnational repression”.

"A state orchestrating the abduction of individuals abroad and forcibly taking them to its territory is a serious act of transnational repression," it said.

Viet Tan describes itself as an organisation working to “overcome dictatorship and build the foundation for a sustainable democracy” and is “committed to peaceful non-violent struggle”.

Human Rights Watch has previously described the Viet Tan as “an opposition political party… which operated openly and lawfully in many countries including Australia, but which Hanoi arbitrarily labels ‘terrorist’”.

The group also called on Norwegian and Australian authorities to press the Vietnamese government for the immediate and unconditional release of the two men. “Mr Thuan is diabetic and requires daily insulin injections. He must be guaranteed full access to medication and medical care,” it said.

Meanwhile, Mr Heip’s wife implored the federal government to find him and bring him back. Speaking to the media at the Bangkok airport, she said the family was worried for his safety after not hearing from since 18 September and “just only want to know where he is and what happened to him”.

“My husband deserves protection, and I really hope the Australian government will continue to put pressure on Cambodia to do an investigation to find out where he is right now,” she said.

“It’s been 11 days and I’m really in the dark,” she said. “I don’t know where he is and how he’s doing – it’s driving me crazy. Everything is really uncertain.”

According to the Vietnamese state media, they were charged on Monday with membership of a terrorist organisation and an investigation is underway.

The Australian government said it was providing consular assistance to Mr Heip.

“That’s what Australian governments do for our citizens. And we’ll continue to engage directly with the family,” Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said.

The Independent has reached out to the Norwegian authorities for comments. A Cambodian government spokesperson said he had ​no information about the arrests.

Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have documented the jailing of Vietnamese nationals for their online activism.

The southeast Asian country ramped up its crackdown on dissidents in recent years, and has arrested at least 55 activist under broad criminal laws in 2025, report the Sydney Morning Herald. According to Human Rights Watch, more than 160 political prisoners are languishing in prison and are faced with “police harassment, intimidation, surveillance, and interrogation on a daily basis”.

Phong Nguyen, who represents Viet Tan in Australia, said sentencing the activists for 15 to 20 was not unusual in Vietnam, and that everyone including ordinary people were at risk, he told ABC Net.