PHNOM PENH: The Cambodian Ministry of Interior has denied that Cambodian authorities played a role in the transfer of an Australian national and his Norwegian travelling companion to Vietnam, noting that Vietnamese authorities have announced that the pair were detained in the neighbouring nation on Sept 18.
In an Oct 7 statement, the ministry outlined the findings of an investigation launched after the Australian embassy in Cambodia requested intervention over the disappearance of Australian passport holder Tran Hiep.
“The competent authorities of the Kingdom of Cambodia did not arrest and hand over the aforementioned individuals to Vietnamese authorities,” the ministry said.
The General Commissariat of National Police received the embassy’s request on Sept 22. That night, the ministry received confirmation that the family of Nguyen Thuan Duc, a Norwegian passport holder travelling with Tran Hiep, had lost contact with him on Sept 18.
The ministry said that after receiving this information, specialised officers were ordered to investigate.
According to immigration records cited in the statement, the two men arrived in Cambodia from Thailand on Sept 15 through Techo International Airport, aboard flight K6 723.
The General Department of Immigration’s data management system showed no recorded departure from Cambodia for either man, the ministry said. Police continued their investigation based on those records.
The ministry said information received from Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security indicated that Vietnamese authorities publicly announced on Sept 28 the detention of Tran Hiep, Nguyen Thuan Duc and a Vietnamese national, Thai Cong Truong Son.
According to that information, the three were detained at 9.50pm on Sept 18 at the My Quy Tay border guard station in Vietnam’s Tay Ninh province, after allegedly crossing the border into Vietnam illegally.
The interior ministry also relayed Vietnamese authorities’ accusation that the three were members of Viet Tan, which Vietnam has designated as a terrorist organisation.
The ministry reported that the three remain in detention in Vietnam, pending further investigation.
Its statement rejected allegations of Cambodian involvement in arresting or transferring the men, while presenting the immigration records and information from Vietnam as findings of the search initiated following the Australian Embassy’s request.
Nguyen Duc Thuan, 52, is a Vietnamese-Norwegian human rights advocate who lives in Oslo with his wife and two children. According to his family, the Viet Tan member has worked with Norwegian officials and human rights organisations to campaign for the release of political prisoners in Vietnam.
He is also active in Norway’s Catholic community, raising awareness of perceived restrictions on religious freedom in Vietnam. His family said he has diabetes and requires daily insulin injections, heightening their concerns after losing contact with him on Sept 18.
Tran Hiep, also known as Ho Pham Hiep Huy, 51, is a Vietnamese-Australian human rights advocate who lives in Melbourne with his wife.
According to his family’s appeal, he is a Viet Tan member who has provided digital security training to activists and supported disadvantaged young people through the Em Viet group.
He also helped launch the Australian Alliance to Combat Human Trafficking, organising fundraising events and advocacy workshops against the trafficking of young Vietnamese girls to neighbouring countries.
His family said they last heard from him on Sept 18, before he failed to board his scheduled return flight to Bangkok the following day. - The Phnom Penh/ANN
