Transnational repression and the forced return of Montagnard rights advocate and refugee Y Qing Bdap

To mark International Human Rights Day, which is annually celebrated on December 10, the FCCT has organized a panel about the continued fight against transnational repression in Thailand.

On November 28, the Thai government deported UNHCR-recognized refugee Y Qing Bdap, the co-founder of Montagnards Stand for Justice, back to Vietnam over the objections of his lawyers and many civil society organizations who claim that he will face ill-treatment and torture. Upon arrival, Y Qing Bdap started serving a ten-year prison sentence arising from a trial in which he was tried in absentia in politically motivated proceedings that were neither free nor fair since the judge and court were completely controlled by the Vietnamese government and ruling Communist Party.

Thailand acted over the objection of UN agencies and many Bangkok-based embassies which urged them to let Y Qing Bdap resettle as a refugee to a third country with his wife and children, who are now left behind in Bangkok.

The decision was a striking setback for human rights activists and those seeking to combat transnational repression between Thailand and its authoritarian neighbors. Equally important, Thailand again failed to uphold the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act, which was passed in 2022 with much fanfare and international praise for Thailand. Article 13 of that law explicitly prohibits Thai officials from acting to “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.”

The Vietnamese government placed intensive pressure on the Thai government, prosecutors, and the judiciary to return Y Qing Bdap, and ultimately prevailed when the initial court refused to substantively rule based on the torture and enforced disappearance act, essentially ceding discretion for the ultimate determination to the relevant Thai ministries. That decision was upheld on November 27 by a court of appeal that called a hurry-up hearing, giving defense attorneys 24 hours to act.

To discuss these issues raised by the forced return of Y Qing Bdap, and the larger question of ongoing Thai cooperation with acts of transnational repression by neighboring authoritarians in Vietnam, China, Laos, Myanmar, and Malaysia, the following speakers will appear:

Nadthasiri Bergman, defense lawyer for Y Qing Bdap.

Cynthia Veliko, regional representative, Southeast Asia, Office of UN High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR).

Sanhawan Srisod, associate international legal advisor, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).

Representatives of the Royal Thai Government TBA

Moderator: Phil Robertson, director, Asia Human Rights & Labour Advocates (AHRLA) and FCCT board member.

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