Australia urged to ramp up pressure on Vietnam over activist's arrest

Human rights groups are urging the federal government to increase pressure on Vietnam over the detention of an Australian pro-democracy campaigner who disappeared in Cambodia last month.

Melbourne man Hiep Tran vanished after traveling to the region in September to meet Vietnamese human rights groups in Cambodia. More than a week later, Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security said it had caught Mr. Tran and another human rights activist, Norwegian citizen Duc Thuan Nguyen, trying to illegally enter Vietnam to engage in "terrorist and sabotage activities".

However, Hiep Tran's supporters deny this, saying the two men had no plan to enter Vietnam and were likely abducted by Vietnamese authorities and taken across the border.

The two men are members of Viet Tan, an overseas Vietnamese opposition group that Vietnam's ruling party has labeled a terrorist organization. While some scholars say Viet Tan has roots in armed anti-Communist groups that emerged after the Vietnam War, it relaunched in the 2000s as a political party committed to peaceful change.

Arrest 'outrageous and unacceptable'

Human rights advocate Phil Robertson said Hiep Tran's arrest was "outrageous and unacceptable" and another sign that Vietnamese authorities were increasingly determined to target political opponents overseas under President To Lam.

"To Lam has made a point of going after vocal critics whenever he can, and that has included abductions in Thailand, abductions in Germany, abductions now in Cambodia," he said.

Government making representations

Last week, Foreign Minister Penny Wong confirmed that she was aware of the case and that Australian officials were working on it.

"I can confirm I'm aware of this case and that Australian officials are aware," she said. "I can confirm that we have made representations, including from me, in relation to this matter."

However, she did not provide further information due to privacy considerations.

Detention and trial concerns

Mr. Tran's supporters say he is currently being detained in the notorious B34 detention center in Ho Chi Minh City, where political prisoners are often held before trial. Australian officials had not yet been granted consular access to him as of Monday this week.

His wife, Chloe Dang, said she was "heartbroken" to be separated from her husband and has pleaded with Vietnam to set him free.

Community impact

The case has also stirred debate in the Vietnamese community in Australia, which includes both government supporters and opponents of the communist ruling party.

Brisbane-based community activist My Linh Do, a prominent pro-democracy advocate and critic of Vietnam's ruling party, said Hiep Tran's experience reminded her of her own confrontation with Vietnamese authorities almost 15 years ago.

"Since Hiep Tran's incident last week, I got very scared, and I have been losing sleep," she said. "I haven't been able to eat. I've been crying a lot."

My Linh told that she was detained in 2012 at the Vietnamese border and interrogated for five days before being released.

Diplomatic efforts

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said Australian officials in Vietnam continue to engage with the Vietnamese government.

DFAT's official travel advice for Vietnam warns that people can be detained for "perceived involvement with non-state-sanctioned political organisations or groups perceived by the Government of Vietnam to be associated with dissident groups".

Vietnam's response

Vietnam's embassy in Canberra said the allegations of forced abduction were "unfounded and misleading".

"In Viet Nam, arrests and prosecutions are carried out in accordance with the law, as in other countries," a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also denied that Vietnamese Australians were treated inappropriately when traveling to the country.