Tran Hiep, a freelance IT professional who founded the Australian Alliance to Combat Human Trafficking, was detained by Vietnamese authorities for alleged terrorism and forging identity documents. He is also accused of being a member of Viet Tan, a pro-democracy group Vietnam describes as a terrorist organisation.
The alarm was raised by his wife, Chloe Dang, when Hiep failed to board his flight from the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, on 18 September, where he had been meeting human rights defenders. After nearly a fortnight without word, Vietnamese authorities confirmed he was in jail awaiting trial. Australian authorities have since told Dang he is being held in the B34 pre-trial detention centre in Ho Chi Minh City, which has been linked to alleged human rights abuses against political prisoners.
"I will not stop worrying until I hear from him or see him with my own eyes," Dang said. "Last week, he had to spend his birthday alone in detention. We always do everything together, so the thought of that is truly heartbreaking for me."
Dang wants his immediate and unconditional release.
Hiep is the latest Australian human rights campaigner to be detained in Vietnam. Vietnamese-born Australian Chau Van Kham was arrested in January 2019 and sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment on "financing terrorism" charges over his membership of Viet Tan, and was released after four years in 2023.
According to the Vietnamese government, Hiep was arrested entering Vietnam from the Cambodian border along with another human rights activist, Nguyen Duc Thuan, a Vietnamese citizen holding a Norwegian passport. A third person, Thai Cong Truong Son, was also arrested. Cambodian authorities have denied any involvement, saying the men were intercepted at the My Quy Tay border crossing.
Human Rights Watch has previously described Viet Tan as "an opposition political party which operates openly and lawfully in many countries including Australia, but which Hanoi arbitrarily labels 'terrorist'".
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the family but will not comment on the case due to privacy obligations.