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Australia Seeks Help After Vietnam Abducts Activist in Cambodia

By Drooid · Sep 29, 2026, 3:56 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Vietnam Abducts Activist

Vietnamese authorities abducted Australian activist Tran Hiep in Cambodia, Viet Tan says.
Tran Hiep, 51, traveled with Vietnamese-Norwegian Nguyen Duc Thuan to meet Cambodian activists.
Vietnamese officials allege the men crossed illegally into Vietnam, calling the abduction a fabrication.
Tran Hiep’s family, Viet Tan and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) have asked the government for assistance.

Summary

Families Petition UN

Families of missing Vietnamese activists filed a report with Cambodian authorities and consulted Australian consular officials.
They appealed to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
Vietnam arrested over 55 activists in 2025 under broad criminal statutes, state media said.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International documented many imprisonments for online dissent.
Australian citizen Chau Van Kham, a Viet Tan member, served 4½ years after a 2019 arrest.

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Vietnam Abducts Activist

Vietnamese authorities abducted Australian activist Tran Hiep in Cambodia, Viet Tan says.
Tran Hiep, 51, traveled with Vietnamese-Norwegian Nguyen Duc Thuan to meet Cambodian activists.
Vietnamese officials allege the men crossed illegally into Vietnam, calling the abduction a fabrication.
Tran Hiep’s family, Viet Tan and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) have asked the government for assistance.

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