A prominent Vietnamese activist and blogger has been detained at an immigration facility near Phnom Penh International Airport since Feb. 3, accused of using a fake passport while transiting to the U.S., his sister said. A Cambodian civil aviation official confirmed the detention.
It is the second time he has been barred from traveling there – but the first by Cambodian authorities.
Huynh Trong Hieu, a democracy advocate from a dissident family, has been detained for over a week at an immigration center in the capital after crossing the Moc Bai land border without issue the day before arriving at the airport, his sister Huynh Thuc Vy said.
Sao Wathana, chief of the state secretariat of civil aviation, confirmed the arrest at the airport by immigration police and referred further questions to the immigration chief on site.
Sok Veasna, general director of the General Department of Immigration, and his spokesperson, Sok Sumnea, could not be reached for comment.
Vy, who has managed to contact Hieu despite the circumstances, said his passport was issued by Vietnamese authorities in July 2024 and he holds a valid U.S. visa. He was en route to the U.S. to visit friends before heading to Canada to see his son.
CamboJA News could not verify if or when Hieu will be deported back to Vietnam.
Hieu’s passport and right to leave Vietnam were revoked in 2012 after he tried to board a flight from Ho Chi Minh City to the U.S. to accept a human rights award on behalf of Vy – also an activist writer – and their father, a prominent novelist jailed for 10 years on charges of “conducting propaganda against the state.”
He was not reissued a passport until last year.
Since their father’s release, the Huynh family has faced constant surveillance and harassment by local authorities, reportedly due to their activism, as documented multiple times over the years.
“In 2012, the three of us – my father, my brother, and I – were fined a total of 270 million VND (around $10,550) and had our home raided, with authorities confiscating communication devices such as computers, printers, and cameras,” said Vy.
“As for me, my passport was confiscated in 2015, and I’ve yet to receive a new one,” she added, also mentioning her 33-month imprisonment in 2021 for “insulting the national flag” after allegedly spraying paint on it and posting a photo of the defaced flag on social media.
Hieu’s detention, however, appears to be part of a broader trend. It follows recent reports from rights groups highlighting rising transnational repression in the region, with Southeast Asian governments effectively exchanging dissidents.
“I do not know why Cambodian authorities are involved in repressing Hieu this time. However, I am aware that Cambodian and Vietnamese police have a very close relationship and cooperate in arresting people who flee Vietnam to Cambodia for political reasons,” Vy asserted.
Deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch Bryony Lau said she is alarmed by Hieu’s arrest, emphasizing that he was traveling on a valid passport and visa.
“Vietnamese authorities have judicially harassed the Huynh family since 1992, who have endured police raids, property confiscation, travel bans, and arrests,” she said. “Cambodian authorities should not forcibly return Huynh Trong Hieu to Vietnam where he may be at risk.”
Eng Ra, director of Phnom Penh International Airport, declined to comment on Hieu’s detention, saying he was in a meeting.
National Police spokesperson Chhay Khim Khoeun referred questions to immigration police.
Neither the U.S. Embassy nor the Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh immediately responded to inquiries about Hieu’s case.
(Additional reporting by Khuon Narim)
UPDATE: This article was updated at 5:55 PM to correct that Hieu is being detained at a facility near the airport, not in the airport.
