Vietnam police have arrested three people, including a Norwegian citizen and an Australian national of Vietnamese origin, accusing them of terrorism, in an operation that a pro-democracy group says was conducted in Cambodia.
The three men were identified by Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security late on Sept 28 as Nguyen Duc Thuan, Ho Pham Hiep Huy and Thai Cong Truong Son. It said they were arrested on Sept 18 trying to cross illegally from Cambodia into Vietnam.
The ministry said the men had admitted to being members of Viet Tan, a US-based pro-democracy group that Vietnam’s Communist government designates as a terrorist organisation.
The three were “illegally entering Vietnam to conduct terrorist and sabotage activities”, the ministry said.
They are also accused of forging seals and documents, according to the ministry. It said Thuan, born in 1974, was carrying a Norwegian passport and Huy, born in 1975, was carrying an Australian passport.
It did not provide further information about Son’s nationality, but said he was born in 1980.
Viet Tan said in a statement late on Sept 28 that Thuan and Huy (also known as Tran Hiep) had been abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken to Vietnam. It said they disappeared in Cambodia on the morning of Sept 18 while travelling to Kaoh Andaet, an area in the south of the country adjacent to the Vietnamese border.
