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Posted at 9:14 a.m., Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Vietnam released U.S. citizens after evidence sought

By BEN STOCKING
Associated Press

HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam released three of four detained American citizens shortly after the U.S. ambassador demanded to see evidence of terrorism to justify their detention, the U.S. Embassy said Wednesday.

No formal charges had been brought against the four who were arrested in recent weeks, but the Vietnamese media have said two of them were being investigated for terrorism. Two others were detained after they allegedly arrived at the Ho Chi Minh City airport with a weapon in their luggage.

Ambassador Michael Michalak told reporters Tuesday he had seen no evidence to justify the detentions.

Hours later, Vietnam released Truong Van Ba of Honolulu, along with Nguyen Thi Thinh and Le Van Phan.

Ba, whose Americanized name is Leon Truong, left for his home in Hawai'i Tuesday evening, said Jim Warren, an embassy spokesman.

A fourth citizen, Nguyen Quoc Quan, remains in custody. Vietnamese authorities say he entered the country on a forged Cambodian passport.

Ba and Quan were arrested at a house in Ho Chi Minh City on Nov. 17 when authorities found them preparing to circulate pamphlets on behalf of Viet Tan, a California-based pro-democracy group that Vietnam considers a terrorist organization.

Viet Tan says it promotes nonviolent political change in Vietnam, and Michalak said Tuesday he has seen no evidence that the group is engaged in terrorism.

Thinh and Phan were arrested Nov. 23 at the Ho Chi Minh City airport, allegedly for carrying a weapon in their luggage.

Phan and Thinh, whose Americanized name is Helen Le, were expected to return to the United States as soon as Wednesday.

"One American is already en route back to the United States, and two others have been released and plan to return to the United States in the coming days," Warren said. "We welcome this news."

The Viet Tan group has said Thinh and Phan are not members and it knows nothing about them. Michalak said he believed the two sets of arrests were unrelated.

Vietnamese government officials could not be reached for comment.

Duy Hoang, a U.S.-based leader of Viet Tan, said Ba's release showed the detainees had been held without justification.

"There has been absolutely no merit to these charges of terror," Hoang said. "These individuals were only in Vietnam to express their views peacefully. Everything that the Vietnamese government said about Viet Tan and its activities was untrue."