Germany asks Slovakia about Vietnamese kidnapping case

BERLIN – German Chancellor Angela Merkel is asking Slovakia to provide information about its involvement in the kidnapping of a Vietnamese businessman.

Trinh Xuan Thanh, the former chairman of PetroVietnam’s construction arm, was snatched off a Berlin street in July only to reappear in Vietnam, where he was given two life sentences earlier this year for embezzlement.

German authorities say the kidnapping was carried out by Vietnamese intelligence. Vietnam claims that Thanh, who was seeking asylum in Germany, returned voluntarily

Daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported Sunday that Slovakia allowed visiting Vietnamese officials to borrow a government plane to fly from Bratislava to Moscow last July. It wasn’t clear who was aboard.

Merkel said Wednesday she had been assured of Bratislava’s help in the case, adding that it “weighs heavily on German-Vietnamese relations.”