Vietnamese police have arrested three men, including a Norwegian citizen and an Australian national of Vietnamese origin, on terrorism and sabotage charges, the Ministry of Public Security said.
The ministry identified the men as Nguyen Duc Thuan, Ho Pham Hiep Huy and Thai Cong Truong Son, saying they were arrested on September 18 while allegedly trying to enter Vietnam illegally from Cambodia.
It said the three had admitted to being members of Viet Tan, a US-based pro-democracy group that Vietnam’s Communist government designates as a terrorist organisation.
According to the ministry, the men were attempting to enter Vietnam to carry out terrorist and sabotage activities. They were also accused of forging official seals and documents.
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Thuan, born in 1974, was carrying a Norwegian passport, while Huy, born in 1975 and also known as Tran Hiep, was carrying an Australian passport. The ministry did not disclose Son’s nationality but said he was born in 1980.
Viet Tan disputed the authorities’ account, saying Thuan and Huy had been abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken to Vietnam.
The group said the two men disappeared in Cambodia on the morning of September 18 while travelling to Kaoh Andaet, in the south of the country near the Vietnamese border.
It accused Vietnamese authorities of fabricating charges to conceal what it called an act of transnational repression and called for the men’s immediate and unconditional release.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government was providing consular assistance to Huy and his family.
The Norwegian embassy in Hanoi referred Reuters’ questions to the government in Oslo, while a Cambodian government spokesperson said he had no information about the arrests.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The ministry said investigations were continuing and that the three men would be prosecuted in accordance with Vietnamese law.
