Vietnam Abducts Activists in Cambodia, India Mass-Detains Protesters, HRF Remembers Anna Politkovskaya

HRF joins 28 civil society organizations, including @freedomhouse, @article19org, and @viettan, in calling on the Vietnamese government to immediately and unconditionally release Nguyen Duc Thuan, a Vietnamese-Norwegian activist; Tran Hiep, a Vietnamese-Australian activist; and Thai Cong Truong Son, an ethnic Vietnamese living in Cambodia.

On Sept. 18, Thuan and Hiep went missing while traveling to Cambodia. On Sept. 28, Vietnam’s government announced that the three men had been arrested for “illegally entering” the country and were being investigated on terrorism charges. However, reports indicate that they were abducted in Cambodia and forcibly taken to Vietnam. Their whereabouts and place of detention remain unknown.

The case raises another alarm over Vietnam’s ongoing transnational repression across Southeast Asia. The joint statement also calls for consular access, disclosure of their whereabouts, and guarantees of access to medical care.

HRF expresses deep concern over the mass detention of at least 700 protesters by Delhi police during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests at Jantar Mantar. The protesters — consisting of civil society leaders, advocates, and opposition politicians — were demonstrating against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Indias electoral register.

Delhi police are accused of taking draconian measures against peaceful protesters, such as deploying thousands of police to force people into buses, shutting down metro stations near Jantar Mantar, imposing an internet shutdown, and sexually assaulting three journalists.

CJP protests also took place in Mumbai, with thousands gathering under a heavy police presence. CJP leadership and opposition parties have called for nationwide protests this week, including a planned march to the Election Commission of India’s offices in Delhi. The SIR, undertaken by the Election Commission since 2025, has unfairly stripped tens of millions of voters from the electoral register.

Protesters are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who oversees the SIR and was appointed by a panel chaired by Narendra Modi. India’s Supreme Court has taken up petitions calling for an independent inquiry into the SIR, and demanded answers and accountability from the Modi government and the Election Commission over the mass deletion of voters.

According to HRF’s Tyranny Tracker, India is ruled by a hybrid authoritarian regime in which civic space continues to shrink. The right to peaceful protest is foundational to democracy. HRF calls on India to release all detained protesters and protect the right to dissent.