Vietnamese man allegedly attacked and abducted on Slovak Government Plane

Kidnapped Vietnamese businessman Trinh Xuan Thanh was on board a Slovak government aircraft and he had reportedly been beaten up and appeared intoxicated when boarding the plane, the Denník N daily reported on Thursday, referring to information from police officers who accompanied the Vietnamese delegation during the incident. Thanh, 51, was allegedly kidnapped while seeking asylum in Berlin before being transported to Bratislava in time for the official Slovak visit of Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam. According to the German press, some of the suspects involved in the Berlin kidnapping were seen with the Vietnamese minister in Bratislava. The Slovak Interior Ministry provided a plane to bring the Vietnamese delegation from Prague to Bratislava, before the Vietnamese announced sudden changes in their plans, with the Slovak taxpayer-funded aircraft then flying the group outside the EU to Moscow, Russia. Slovak police officers who transferred the Vietnamese man from one van to another said they noticed that the man had been beaten up, however security guards were told that the kidnapped man had got drunk and fallen down stairs. Denník N also reported that the pilot of the government aircraft ordered that all mobile phones should be confiscated so that the stewards couldn't take any pictures. The Slovak government has denied any involvement in the alleged abduction. The Vietnamese government stated that the Vietnamese businessman, who was seeking asylum in Germany, returned to Vietnam voluntarily to face trial and be imprisoned. He is now serving two life sentences for alleged Fraud.