15-6-2024 (BANGKOK) Human rights groups have sounded the alarm over the arrest of a Vietnamese activist in Thailand, urging authorities not to extradite him to Vietnam, where he could face persecution. The case has reignited concerns about the protection of refugees and asylum seekers in the Southeast Asian nation.
Y Quynh Bdap, a 32-year-old activist and co-founder of the Montagnards Stand for Justice group, was detained by Thai police on Tuesday, just a day after meeting with Canadian Embassy officials to pursue asylum. According to the Peace Rights Foundation, a Thai organization that had been in contact with him, Bdap had been granted United Nations refugee status in Thailand.
Bdap’s arrest has drawn widespread condemnation from human rights advocates, who fear for his safety if he is handed over to Vietnamese authorities. In January, he was convicted in absentia in Vietnam on allegations of organizing anti-government riots in the central highland province of Dak Lak last June, charges he vehemently denies.
“I am a human rights activist fighting for religious freedom and advocating for people’s rights,” Bdap said in a video statement provided to The Associated Press by Kannavee Suebsang, a Thai opposition lawmaker and human rights advocate. “My activities are peaceful, consisting only of collecting and writing reports on human rights violations in Vietnam.”
Bdap, who fled to Thailand in 2018, had been in hiding for six months after Vietnamese authorities made inquiries about him in Thailand, prompting concerns about his potential extradition. He is currently being held in a Bangkok prison awaiting an extradition hearing, which could take place within a week, according to Human Rights Watch.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed concern over the case, stating that it “actively engages” with the Thai government to ensure fundamental international obligations are honored, including the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the forcible return of refugees to a country where they may face persecution.
“States have the primary responsibility to provide protection and safety to persons on their territory, including refugees and asylum-seekers and people whose lives could be at risk if they were returned,” said UNHCR spokesperson Liana Bianchi.
Vietnam has long been criticized by rights groups for its treatment of the Montagnard minority, a term used to refer to predominantly Christian ethnic groups living in the central highlands and neighboring Cambodia. Human Rights Watch has documented instances of intimidation, arbitrary arrests, and mistreatment of these communities by Vietnamese authorities, driving many to seek asylum in Cambodia and Thailand.
“Y Quynh Bdap would be at real risk if returned to Vietnam,” said Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch. “Thai authorities should immediately release this prominent religious freedom advocate and refugee. Returning him to Vietnam would be a violation of Thailand’s obligations under Thai and international law.”
The organization has also criticized Thailand for its record of sending dissidents from Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and China back to their countries of origin, where they may face uncertain fates, a practice they describe as a form of transnational repression.
Kannavee Suebsang, the Thai opposition lawmaker, expressed concern over the cooperation between states in locating and extraditing persecuted opposition groups, citing examples of Thai activists turning up dead in Laos and Cambodian opposition groups being rounded up in Thailand.
“Transnational repression does happen, and the exchanges of these dissidents happen regularly, whether in secret or in full view of the public,” Kannavee said.
