Vietnamese police have arrested two democracy activists, one an ethnic Vietnamese citizen of Australia, in an ongoing round-up of advocates for political reform. Nguyen Van Vien, a member of the banned Brotherhood for Democracy, and Chau Van Kham, a member of Viet Tan–an unsanctioned pro-democracy party with members inside Vietnam and abroad–were taken into custody on January 13th 2019 in Ho Chi Minh City, according to a Brotherhood for Democracy statement. Security agents later arrived at Vien’s family home to carry out a search and threaten Vien’s wife, the Brotherhood said, asserting Vien’s innocence and condemning what it called his “illegal arrest” by communist authorities. Vien has been active in environmental protection work following a massive spill in 2016 of toxic waste by the Taiwan-owned Formosa firm, Brotherhood for Democracy said.