Hanoi - One of four US citizens arrested by Vietnam last month and accused of involvement in terrorism was travelling on a forged Cambodian passport, the Vietnamese government alleged Thursday. Nguyen Quoc Quan was arrested November 17 in Ho Chi Minh City along with five other democracy activists, including fellow Vietnamese-born US citizen Leon Trung. Quan had entered Vietnam on Cambodian documents identifying him as Ly Seng, government spokesman Le Dung said.
"Nguyen Quoc Quan immigrated into Vietnam with forged travel documents," Dung said. "This is a violation of Vietnamese and international law."
Quan and Trung are members of a US anti-Communist group called the Viet Tan party, which said they were in Vietnam to promote strategies for peaceful democratic change. Two other foreign Viet Tan members, French citizen Le Thi Thanh Van and Thai citizen Somsak Khunmi, were also arrested.
The Vietnamese government and press have accused them of involvement in terrorism but no formal charges have been made public.
Dung said confusion over Quan's Cambodian passport led Vietnamese authorities to doubt his American citizenship until it was confirmed by US consular officials, who were permitted to visit Quan for the first time Tuesday.
The US embassy in Hanoi said officials had met with Quan at the Tay Ninh detention facility and he appeared to be in good health.
Two other Vietnamese-born US citizens, Le Van Phan and Nguyen Thi Thinh, were arrested on November 23 at an airport in Ho Chi Minh City after a handgun and ammunition were reportedly found in their baggage. US consular officials said they expected to meet with them later this week.
