Yesterday morning (29 October), police, immigration, and provincial officials in Nonthaburi arrested over 70 Montagnard refugees in Bang Yai district. They are being detained at the District Office.

A supporter of the refugees who asked to remain anonymous out of safety concerns said that the refugees are Christians fleeing religious persecution in Vietnam and are now being vetted by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for relocation to a third country. Only a small number have been relocated to the US and Canada, and further relocations are now unlikely due to policies imposed by US President Donald Trump.

The supporter said that, of the arrested refugees, 19 have been recognized as refugees by UNHCR. These refugees were previously arrested and released on bail, and it is likely they will soon be released after immigration officials have checked their status.

The supporter said that they would like organizations to step in and help bailing out the refugees, noting that the UNHCR has been slow in issuing refugee ID cards, which means that it is more difficult to request bail, and the refugees would have to spend longer in detention. Each refugee also needs a security of around 50,000 baht, which in total is a huge sum. Previous bail requests also took 6 – 7 months before being approved.

The Montagnards are Christian Indigenous peoples living in Vietnam’s Central Highlands. They have been victims of discrimination and other ill-treatment, including forced renunciation of non-recognised religious denominations and conversion to official churches, the criminalisation of religious leaders and deliberately misapplied terrorism charges. Many fled this religious and political persecution to Thailand.