The wife of Australian-Vietnamese democracy campaigner Tran Hiep has appealed to the federal government to help locate him after he disappeared during a trip to Cambodia.
Mr Hiep, 50, was due to fly back to Bangkok, Thailand, after travelling to Phnom Penh to meet human rights defenders. He did not board his flight and has not contacted his wife, Chloe Dang, since September 18.
“My family and I are really worried about his safety, and we just only want to know where he is and what happened to him,” Ms Dang told AAP at Bangkok airport before travelling to Melbourne.
“My husband deserves protection, and I really hope the Australian government will continue to put pressure on Cambodia to do an investigation to find out where he is right now.”
Mr Hiep, a freelance IT professional who founded the Australian Alliance to Combat Human Trafficking, had travelled with fellow human rights activist Nguyen Duc Thuan, who is Vietnamese and holds a Norwegian passport.
The two men had gone to Cambodia to meet dissident Vietnamese activists for training. Their families have since filed an appeal with the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
Concerns over missing Cambodia activists
Viet Tan, a pro-democracy diaspora political party, said the disappearance was concerning because Vietnamese dissidents had previously vanished in neighbouring countries and later appeared in custody in Vietnam.
“Their disappearance is not an ordinary ‘missing person’ incident. Both men are long-time human rights advocates and Viet Tan members,” the organisation said.
Vietnam has intensified its crackdown on dissidents in recent years, with more than 55 activists arrested under broad criminal laws in 2025. Civil society groups and United Nations human rights experts have repeatedly warned of increasing co-operation between Vietnamese authorities and neighbouring governments targeting advocates.
Ms Dang, 36, said the uncertainty over her husband’s whereabouts had taken a heavy psychological toll.
“It’s been 11 days and I’m really in the dark,” she said, choking back tears. “I don’t know where he is and how he’s doing – it’s driving me crazy.”
“Everything is really uncertain.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that consular officials were in contact with Ms Dang but declined to comment further.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian reported missing in Cambodia,” a department spokesperson said.
