Thai bully flexes muscle

The government's decision to extradite Vietnamese human rights activist Y Quynh Bdap to Vietnam rings loud alarm bells about Thailand’s growing role in transnational repression.

- 

On Wednesday, the Court of Appeal upheld a 2024 lower court ruling ordering Bdap's return to Vietnam, where he was sentenced in absentia in January 2024 on terrorism charges. Living in Thailand since 2018 as a UN-recognised refugee, he was arrested last year at Hanoi’s request.

The United Nations and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) repeatedly urged the government to halt the deportation, saying Bdap was in the process of resettlement to a third country and remained under the protection of the UNHCR.

Bdap is the latest example of a Thai foreign policy posture that contradicts international human rights standards — and Thailand’s own laws.

Although Thailand has signed repatriation agreements with numerous governments, the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act of 2022 explicitly prohibits returning anyone to a country where they may face torture.