33 civil society organisations have issued a joint statement demanding that the Thai government protect Y Quynh Bdap, a UNHCR-recognised Montagnard refugee, and under no circumstances extradite him to Vietnam, where he is likely to face imprisonment and torture.

Y Quynh Bdap (Photo from Amnesty International Thailand)

A religious freedom activist, Bdap is a co-founder of Montagnards Stand for Justice (MSFJ), an organisation advocating human rights for the Montagnard people, an ethnic minority in Vietnam, and their right to practice Christianity. The Montagnard people have been subjected to marginalisation and repression by the Vietnamese government, forced to abandon their religion, and have reportedly faced prosecution and intimidation by Vietnamese authorities.

Bdap was recognised as a refugee by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) after he sought asylum in Thailand in 2018. He has allegedly been linked, along with a large group of other Montagnard people, to attacks in June 2023 on two Vietnamese government buildings and a police station in Dak Lak, which killed 9 people and injured 2. Although he was not in the country when the attacks occurred, the Vietnamese Court sentenced him in absentia to 10 years in prison for terrorism.

On 11 June 2024, he was arrested by Thai authorities for overstaying his visa. Only a day after he revealed to the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok that he intended to seek asylum in Canada, the Vietnamese government requested his extradition.

On 30 September, the Thai Criminal Court ruled that the Bdap could be extradited back to Vietnam if the government decides to do so.

Last Friday (18 October), 33 national, regional, and international civil society organisations issued a joint statement demanding that the Thai government decline the request for Bdap’s extradition, since he faces a risk of torture, arbitrary detention, and other human rights violations if returned to Vietnam.

The statement noted that, given the well-documented persecution of Montagnard activists in Vietnam and Bdap’s political activities, extraditing him to Vietnam would violate Thailand’s obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (UNCAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which prohibit the extradition of people to a country where they would be at risk of torture, other ill-treatment, or other irreparable harm. It would also be a violation of Thailand’s Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act.

“UNHCR refugee status means that Thailand must protect, not prosecute, the person who has it. Under no circumstances should the Thai government send Y Quynh Bdap back into harm’s way in Vietnam, where he would likely be physically abused and tortured during a long imprisonment in notorious Gia Trung prison in the country’s Central Highlands”, said Krittaporn Semsantad, Program Director at the Peace Rights Foundation (PRF). “Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn has the authority to order the relevant government agencies not to extradite Y Quynh Bdap, considering his refugee status, and she should immediately do so.”

Thailand has recently been elected to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2025 – 2027 term and the outcome of the case could impact the country’s image when it comes to its commitment to international human rights law. Prakaidao Phurksakasemsuk, Deputy Executive Director at the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF), said that Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra must recognise that being elected to the UNHRC comes with responsibility, and that she should do the right thing by allowing Bdap to safely resettle in a third country with his family.

Bdap’s lawyers said that he intends to appeal the Court’s decision. Pending his appeal, he remains in detention at Bangkok Remand Prison. As noted by the 33 civil society organisations in their statement, Bdap’s separation from his wife and children is damaging to the family’s welfare. They called on the Thai authorities to grant him bail so he can be reunited with his family.

“Y Quynh Bdap should be given bail on an urgent humanitarian basis, and permitted to rejoin his family while the court case continues,” said Phil Robertson, Director at Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates (AHRLA). “There is absolutely no sufficient reason to hold a refugee father in detention, away from his children, and subject him to continued suffering based on bogus accusations and politically motivated claims being pressed by Vietnam’s authoritarian government.”