Rights groups urge Thailand to halt extradition of Montagnard activist Y Quynh Bdap

Amnesty International has called on Thai authorities to stop the forced extradition of Montagnard human rights activist Y Quynh Bdap to Vietnam, citing severe risks of torture and inhuman treatment upon his return.

In a statement released on 10 July, Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong, Amnesty International’s Thailand Researcher, emphasized Vietnam’s “long history of violent and racist persecution against Montagnard Indigenous peoples.”

Tatiyakaroonwong further pointed out that Vietnam’s judicial system lacks independence, and extraditing Bdap would violate Thailand’s non-refoulement obligations.

Y Quynh Bdap, a member of the Ede ethnic group and a UN-recognized refugee, has been in Thailand since 2018. He was arrested in Bangkok on 11 June 2024 for “overstaying” his visa, following a request for his extradition by the Vietnamese authorities.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that Bdap was sentenced in absentia to 10 years’ imprisonment on terrorism charges in January 2024. These charges relate to an armed attack in June 2023 on a government office in Dak Lak Province, which resulted in the deaths of nine people, including Commune police officers. Bdap, who is currently being held at Bangkok Remand Prison, denies these accusations.

“The Vietnamese authorities have a long history of violent and racist persecution against Montagnard Indigenous peoples. Thailand would be in breach of its non-refoulement obligations if it were to accept this farcical extradition request,” said Tatiyakaroonwong. “Vietnam’s courts are not independent. Bdap was tried and found guilty of terrorism charges in absentia in a clear violation of his right to a fair trial.”

As the co-founder of Montagnards Stand for Justice (MSFJ), Bdap has played a significant role as a human rights defender, advocating against religious persecution faced by his community.

Amnesty International has documented that members of unrecognized independent religious groups in Vietnam often face arbitrary detention and torture. Many Montagnards have had to flee the country, describing instances of arbitrary arrest, torture, and a total lockdown in Dak Lak Province targeting Montagnard Indigenous people.

Amnesty International highlighted the dire conditions in Vietnamese prisons, citing a 2016 report that detailed the systematic torture and ill-treatment of prisoners of conscience, including indigenous minorities.

Despite Vietnam ratifying the UN Convention against Torture in 2015, these practices have persisted. Former prisoners reported severe abuses, including beatings, solitary confinement, and being subjected to electric shocks and burns.

Tatiyakaroonwong stated that Bdap’s case reflects the Vietnamese authorities’ “efforts to exercise long-arm repression against human rights defenders beyond its borders.”

He urged Thailand to honor its international obligations to prevent the refoulement of individuals to countries where they could face serious harm. “Thai authorities must immediately release Bdap, stop his extradition process, and ensure the protection of Bdap and other Indigenous and religious minorities who have fled persecution from Vietnam to Thailand,” he concluded.

Thailand has an obligation to respect international law, including the non-refoulement principles and the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Treatment. Section 13 of Thailand’s Act on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance, which came into effect in February 2023, states that no government organizations or public officials shall expel, deport, or extradite a person to another country where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, or enforced disappearance.

Bdap’s extradition hearing is scheduled to begin on 15 July 2024.