11 Nov 2005

US hands former Vietnamese deportee to Marshall Islands

9:30 am on 11 November 2005

A former citizen of Vietnam deported by the United States this week has been given temporary entry to the Marshall Islands to resolve his immigration status.

Thi Dihn Bui arrived in Majuro earlier this week escorted by two US Department of Homeland Security agents.

The Foreign Minister Gerald Zackios said helping the US was in keeping with the close relationship that the two countries have through a Compact of Free Association.

Mr Bui's deportation was related to his conduct while a prisoner in a so-called re-education camp in Vietnam in the late 1980s.

Mr Bui doesn't have a current passport from any country but he's was given a visitor's visa.

He has 30 days to apply for travel documents needed for repatriation.