A man from Merseyside who was on a stag do in Vietnam and thought to be missing was discovered to be locked up in a foreign jail.
James Ryan, from Kirkby, was arrested following an incident at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Vietnam in the middle of May. Four weeks on, his family claim they have had limited contact with the 29-year-old - and, despite repeated requests for information from the British embassy, still don't know where he is.
James' older brother Carl, 39, told the Liverpool ECHO the family are currently experiencing a "nightmare situation” and concerned for James' “wellbeing and safety.”A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) told the ECHO: "We are in contact with the local authorities following the arrest of a British national in Vietnam." When approached with the Ryan family's claims, the spokesperson declined to comment further.
James was initially on a two-week holiday with others in Vietnam. His family claim that he was arrested for the alleged theft of a bottle of aftershave, which they believe may have happened because James had lost his wallet and needed more money. Carl, who said a theft would be extremely out of character, said the family initially had contact with James as he was allowed to keep his phone.
The family claim James was able to update them with voice notes about his whereabouts and told them he believed he was being kept in an immigration office near the airport and would only be there a few days before being released. However, it’s believed that James was moved to a police detention centre and the family lost contact with him. The family filed a missing persons report on May 20 and, after not hearing any updates for 10 days, were notified by the British embassy that James was detained pending an investigation.
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The embassy confirmed to the family that James was safe and well, the family claim the embassy said they were unable to tell them where in Vietnam he was due to data protection. Carl said: "I had planned to go with my dad to find him, but after hearing he was safe we decided to hold off for a few days as we didn't have a clue where he was. But it was such a slow process, so last Thursday I had had enough and said we need to go because the embassy just kept giving us the same spiel."
With the embassy in a different part of Vietnam, Carl and his dad Eddie visited a British consulate but were again told they were unable to share James' location due to data protection. Carl said they took with them James's birth certificate to prove they were related, but were told British officials were yet to visit James to confirm he was happy with his location being shared. Carl and his dad said after getting no answers as to where James was they visited a number of detention centres themselves but to no avail. Carl said they have since spoken to the embassy and they confirmed they would see James on June 18 as both he and his dad had only recently returned from Vietnam.
He said they would go back after the meeting on June 18, Carl added James could potentially be released on bail but have his passport confiscated and could be waiting to be sentenced for 12 months. Both his parents have taken out part of their pensions to ensure they can get some answers as they are facing the unknown. The family have also set up a GoFundMe page to help fund travel back to east Asia when the time comes. To donate to the Ryan family fundraiser to help them get back to Vietnam click .
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