Trieu Sieu, 35, an indigenous Khmer Krom resident in Tran De District, Soc Trang Province, learned that the Immigration Department of Soc Trang Provincial Police refused to issue him a passport because he is currently on the travel ban list. The official notice, No. 377/XNC, issued by the immigration department, stated that Sieu’s travel ban is effective between August 1, 2023, and August 1, 2026. It did not specifically say why the Khmer Krom resident is banned from traveling abroad.

A relative of Sieu, who declined to be named due to security concerns, Sieu was banned from leaving the country because he advocated on May 28 that the only reason why Sieu was banned from leaving the country was because of his advocating for the rights of the local Khmer Krom people. According to the relative, Sieu had distributed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, along with other activities to promote the rights of the Khmer Krom populations.

Sieu also used his social media account to denounce the authorities’ suppression of the rights of the Khmer Krom people, especially their religious freedom and land rights. RFA reported that in January 2023, the Trung Binh Commune Police, where he lived, summoned Sieu to an interrogation regarding his posting on social media. During that session, the police reportedly questioned him on his sharing of allegations about state repression of the Khmer Krom people.