Vietnamese government accused of abducting Melbourne human rights activist
Tran Hiep, a 50-year-old Vietnamese Australian anti-human trafficking campaigner, not heard from since 18 September
TL;DR
- Vietnamese authorities have detained Tran Hiep, a Vietnamese Australian democracy campaigner, and Nguyen Duc Thuan, who holds a Norwegian passport.
- Vietnam accuses the activists of being members of Viet Tan, a pro-democracy organization it labels as terrorist.
- Viet Tan condemns the detention as fabricated charges to cover up transnational repression and abduction.
- Tran Hiep's wife, Chloe Dang, has pleaded with the Australian government to help find her husband.
- The Australian government confirmed it is providing consular assistance to the family.
- Human Rights Watch has previously stated that Hanoi arbitrarily labels Viet Tan as 'terrorist' despite its lawful operation in many countries.
- The families of the missing men have appealed to the UN working group on enforced or involuntary disappearances.