Quick Facts
Biography
Vo Duc Van (December 20, 1959 in My Tho), also known as Nguyen Nha Trang, is a Vietnamese-American who emigrated to the United States in 1980. In 2001 he was arrested for his part in the attempted bombing of the Vietnamese embassy in Thailand. The "bomb incident" occurred on 19 June and was intended as a political statement as June 19 is the commemoration day celebration of South Vietnam National Army Day.
Biography
Vo Duc Van was born on December 20, 1959, in My Tho, South Vietnam. Vo fled Vietnam by boat in 1979 after the Communists took control of South Vietnam. He sought political asylum at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the Philippines, and was granted settlement in the United States of America in 1980, where he later became a naturalized American Citizen. Vo graduated from California State University with a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering. He then worked as a Californian Building Contractor for a decade. His last employment prior to his arrest was at Midway Columbia Engineering Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington.
Vo was an active volunteer in public and social services. He was a member of the Southern California Vietnamese-American Students Association since 1982 and a member of the board of directors of the Vietnamese Community in Pomona, California, 1988–1991. Vo was a Vietnamese language teacher for the young Buddhists in temples in San Jose, California, Pomona, and in Seattle.
Vo was a member of the anti-communist Free Government of Vietnam (1995) and was also a member of both the Coalition Political Party of Free Vietnam and the Free Vietnam Youth Association.
On October 12, 2001, he was arrested by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at the John Wayne airport for the attempted bombing of the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. He was detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Los Angeles until he was extradited to Thailand on December 1, 2006. Vo was expected to be transferred to Vietnamese authority in 2008.
In September 2001, his alleged accomplices Pham Nguyen Thanh Hien Si, (Tony) Anh Tuan Tran, and (Philip) Phan Thanh Binh were arrested in Thailand and are awaiting trial.
His arrest led the Vietnam to demand that the United States shut down the Government of Free Vietnam, which is led by Prime Minister Nguyen Huu Chanh.
The Vietnamese community held numerous rallies in support of Vo against his deportation to Thailand for his alleged involvement in the attempted bombing of the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok.