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Vietnam charges three men with terrorism; Viet Tan says two were abducted in Cambodia

Vietnam says it caught three Viet Tan members entering illegally from Cambodia with forged documents and has charged them with terrorism. Viet Tan says two of them, Norwegian and Australian citizens, were abducted in Cambodia.

2 outlets · 0L · 1C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: South China Morning Post
Image: Breitbart

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The story, neutrally told

Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security has opened criminal proceedings against Nguyen Duc Thuan, Ho Pham Hiep Huy and Thai Cong Truong Son on charges of terrorism and forging seals and documents. The ministry says border guards caught them at the My Quy Tay border station in Tay Ninh province on September 18 as they entered Vietnam illegally from Cambodia. It says Thuan, 52, carried two fake Vietnamese identity cards and a Norwegian passport, and that Huy carried an Australian passport in the name Tran Hiep.

The ministry says all three told investigators they were members of Viet Tan, which Hanoi designates a terrorist organisation, and that they meant to carry out terrorist and sabotage activities. Viet Tan, which describes itself as a peaceful pro-democracy group, says Thuan and Huy entered Cambodia legally on September 15, were due to leave on September 19, and were abducted there and taken to Vietnam. Viet Tan calls the charges fabricated. It says the men's last contact was on the morning of September 18, more than 12 hours before the border arrest Vietnam describes.

The abduction claim has not been independently established, and Vietnamese authorities have not publicly addressed the claim that the men disappeared inside Cambodia. Phil Robertson of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates called the case transnational repression and urged Norway and Australia to seek the men's release. Australia's foreign affairs department said it was making urgent inquiries, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said consular help was being given to Huy's family.

Viet Tan has not said much about Son, and it had not confirmed he is a member. No court has ruled on the charges, and the investigation continues.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre1 outlet

Framing
A wire-style news report that sets Vietnam's account beside Viet Tan's abduction claim and stresses that the timeline is disputed and unverified.
Emphasis
The charges, the ministry's details of the arrest and documents, the timeline discrepancy, and the fact that no court has ruled.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not quote the Australian government or the men's families, and gives no Human Rights Watch view on Viet Tan's terrorist label.
For example
“The allegation has not been independently established and Vietnamese authorities have not publicly addressed the claim” — South China Morning Post
“The reported timeline is central to the competing accounts.” — South China Morning Post

Right1 outlet

Framing
An advocacy-leaning story about Catholic democracy activists held by a Communist government. It relies heavily on Viet Tan's statements and on human rights groups.
Emphasis
The men's Catholic faith, their families, Thuan's diabetes, Viet Tan's condemnation of Vietnamese Communist Party chief To Lam, and the Australian government's response.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not stress that the abduction claim is unverified, and gives less detail on the ministry's account of the border arrest and the forged papers.
Charged language
“brutish and lawless the To Lam regime”“authoritarian Vietnamese Communist Party chief”“most vicious and pernicious practitioner”
For example
“Two ethnically Vietnamese Catholic activists, one a citizen of Australia and the other Norwegian, who vanished in Cambodia” — Breitbart
“Other human rights groups strongly dispute Hanoi’s characterization of Viet Tan as a terrorist threat.” — Breitbart