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Thailand Extradites UN-Recognized Refugee Y Quynh Bdap to Vietnam After Appeal Court Ruling

Rights groups report his whereabouts are unknown, raising non-refoulement concerns over a risk of torture.

Overview

  • Thai authorities transferred the 33-year-old activist on Nov. 28, two days after the Court of Appeal upheld a lower court order permitting extradition.
  • The Corrections Department said he was moved from a Bangkok prison to police custody for handover, and his lawyer says authorities have not disclosed his current location.
  • Vietnam convicted him in absentia in January on terrorism charges tied to 2023 attacks in Dak Lak that killed nine people, a case he denies.
  • UNHCR had recognized him as a refugee after he fled to Thailand in 2018, yet he was jailed in 2024 on immigration charges as Hanoi pursued extradition.
  • Human Rights Watch and UN experts say the removal violates Thailand’s anti-torture law and non-refoulement obligations, urging foreign governments to press Hanoi to disclose his whereabouts and allow access.