Berlin threatens action in Vietnam kidnap case as demand not met

[webfact]

Berlin threatens action in Vietnam kidnap case as demand not met

 

An image of Vietnamese former oil executive Trinh Xuan Thanh is seen on a TV screen on state-run television VTV, saying he turns himself in at a police station in Hanoi, Vietnam August 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kham

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany said on Wednesday it was considering what steps to take after Vietnam failed to respond to its demand to return a former oil executive believed by Berlin to have been kidnapped by Vietnamese agents.

 

Last week, Germany's foreign ministry accused Vietnam of abducting Trinh Xuan Thanh, who was seeking asylum in Germany but is wanted in the Southeast Asian country on charges of financial mismanagement that caused losses of around $150 million.

 

In scenes reminiscent of Cold War disappearances in the then-divided German capital, Thanh's German lawyer said he believed his client had been bundled into a car and forcefully spirited back to Vietnam as he would never have gone willingly.

 

A foreign ministry spokesman said on Wednesday he regretted that Germany's demand for Hanoi to return Thanh to Germany had gone unanswered.

 

"We had hoped there would be a possibility to .. mend things after this serious breach of German and international law," the spokesman told reporters.

 

"Unfortunately this is not the case, so we are looking at what can be done to make clear to our Vietnamese partners that we cannot accept it," he said.

 

He added the "very regrettable and grave matter is in no way closed".

 

He declined to be drawn on any specific possibilities, but stressed that Vietnam received a considerable amount of development aid from Germany. In 2015,Germany committed 220 million euros ($257.80 million) in development aid to Vietnam over two years.

 

"All options are on the table," said the ministry spokesman.

 

A government spokeswoman added that there had been talks between the two governments.

 

Germany is Vietnam's biggest trading partner in the European Union whose members are due to consider approving a free trade agreement with the Southeast Asian country.

 

Thanh had been an executive at state oil company PetroVietnam and drew attention in 2016 when he was found with a luxury Lexus car with a government license plate. That caused uproar in Vietnam where modesty is expected of officials.

 

Thanh appeared on Vietnamese state television last week but it was unclear if he was speaking freely when he said: "I wasn't thinking maturely and decided to hide and during that time I realized I need to return to face the truth and ... admit my faults and apologise."

 

($1 = 0.8534 euros)

 

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-10

[halloween]

Kidnapping criminals and taking them to their own country to face justice is an idea with a lot of merit. I hope it catches on.

 

I'm sure the US could offer rendition classes to those interested.

Edited August 10, 2017 by halloween

[ilostmypassword]

6 minutes ago, halloween said:

Kidnapping criminals and taking them to their own country to face justice is an idea with a lot of merit. I hope it catches on.

 

I'm sure the US could offer rendition classes to those interested.

Good idea. George Bush and Dick Cheney beware!

[NanLaew]

I really wasn't aware that loss of face was such a strong German trait.

[abrahamzvi]

3 hours ago, NanLaew said:

I really wasn't aware that loss of face was such a strong German trait.

It has nothing to do with a loss of face. Germany is absolutely right not accepting actions against its laws and against international laws and practices. If the person involved had committed criminal acts ,then there is Interpol and such things as extradition requests. However, here it seems to be a political issue, which is unacceptable.

[Juan B Tong]

Now if Boss Redbull would have run over a Hanoi cop, he's be in the goal already!

[Saradoc1972]

11 hours ago, NanLaew said:

I really wasn't aware that loss of face was such a strong German trait.

Depends. Had one American guy abducted by the US around 1990, no reaction at all. Well, a letter of complaint or some such, but nothing formal.