On December 25, the Bangkok Northern District Court ruled to release Vietnamese activist Y Quynh Bdap in an illegal immigration case. The court issued a release order for him and sent the order to the prison on the same day. However, he remains in detention and is still at risk of extradition to Vietnam.
Y Quynh Bdap – a Montagnard activist, and co-founder of the organization “Montagnards for Justice” is said to be facing the possibility of extradition from Thailand to Vietnam.
Although Y Quynh Bdap has political asylum status granted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok under international law. But these factors still cannot exempt Bdap from legal liability under Thai law. For the reason that Thailand is not a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
Bdap was accused of being involved in the attack on June 11, 2023 in Dak Lak province, which killed 9 people and injured many others. Afterwards, the Dak Lak provincial People’s Court sentenced Bdap in absentia to 10 years in prison, for the crime of “terrorism.”
On the Vietnamese side, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said that Vietnam will coordinate with Thailand to handle the case in accordance with the laws of the two countries.
On September 30, the Thai Criminal Court issued a ruling approving the request to extradite Y Quynh Bdap to Vietnam. This decision has met with strong reactions from international human rights organizations. UN experts also expressed deep concern and urged the Thai government to reconsider the decision.
Phil Robertson, Director of the Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, called the decision “appalling and absurd” and raised concerns that Y Quynh would face torture if taken back to Vietnam.
As a result of the trial on December 25, the court acknowledged Bdap’s cooperation and accepted his testimony, saying that these helped clarify important events in the case.
The court reduced each sentence by one-third. Accordingly, Y Quynh Bđap will only be sentenced to a total of four months and 40 days in prison and a fine of 8,000 baht. But because he has been detained for nearly 200 days, and has exceeded the corresponding fine (500 baht/day), he will not have to pay the fine.
On December 27 in Bangkok, Nadthasiri Bergman, his lawyer in Thailand, told the media that the court released him in the immigration case. He will continue to be detained until the court has a final decision on the deportation issue.
According to Thai media, although Thailand and Vietnam do not have an extradition treaty, the two countries can use diplomatic cooperation, which is essentially using Thailand’s Extradition Law. This law stipulates that if the conditions are met, the judge can order Y Quynh to be detained pending extradition. It is worth noting that Article 13 of Thailand’s Anti-Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act prohibits state agencies from extraditing individuals to countries where they may face torture, inhumane treatment or enforced disappearance.
According to Thai media, this case is being closely monitored by Thailand’s opposition. This is considered a test for Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra. In turn, it is also a test for General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam regarding compliance with international human rights obligations.
It should be recalled that despite the Thai court’s order to release him on the illegal immigration case, Bdap is still being detained for consideration of his extradition. According to the court’s decision, Bdap has 30 days to appeal, and if the Thai government fails to extradite him within 90 days, he will be released.
Tra My – Thoibao.de
