November 26: Appeal Court to Deliver Verdict in Extradition Case of Vietnamese Refugee “Y Quynh Bdap”
Tomorrow (26 November 2025) at 2:00 p.m., the Appeal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road will read the Court of Appeal’s verdict in the extradition case of Mr. Y Quynh Bdap, a Vietnamese refugee and activist for freedom of religion, Red Case No. Phor Dor 9/2567. Mr. Bdap’s lawyer was only informed of this scheduled verdict hearing today—just one day before the appointment. It has also been learned that Mr. Bdap will not be brought to the court in person tomorrow; instead, he will attend the hearing via video conference from the prison.
Previously, on 30 September 2024, the Criminal Court had ordered that Mr. Bdap be detained pending extradition to serve his sentence, while also requesting the government’s final decision. The court held that, although Thailand and Vietnam do not have an extradition treaty, the case falls under Section 9 of the Extradition Act B.E. 2551 (2008). The court found that the offense for which Mr. Bdap was convicted in Vietnam does not constitute a political offense, and therefore meets the conditions for extradition.
Mr. Y Quynh Bdap is a Vietnamese refugee and an activist advocating for the religious freedom of ethnic minority groups. He is also a co-founder of Montagnards Stand for Justice (MSFJ), an organization that trains Montagnard communities in Vietnam on Vietnamese and international law, civil society mechanisms, and methods of documenting and reporting religious persecution and human rights violations to the United Nations and the international community.
Mr. Bdap fled to Thailand in 2018 and was granted refugee status by UNHCR. On June 11, 2024, he was arrested by officers from the Immigration Bureau, who claimed that Vietnam had requested his extradition and that a Vietnamese court had convicted him on terrorism charges related to riots that occurred in 2023 in Dak Lak Province. Mr. Bdap denies any involvement in the incident, asserting that his human rights activism, especially for the religious freedom of the Montagnard people, has always been peaceful and non-violent.
Thailand currently enforces the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act B.E. 2565 (2022). Section 13 prohibits state agencies or officials from expelling, returning, or extraditing a person to another state if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the individual would face torture, cruel treatment, or enforced disappearance. In addition, the principle of non-refoulement, customary international law binding on all states, also applies.
The Cross Cultural Foundation and human rights organizations invite the media, the public, and civil society groups to closely follow the Appeal Court’s verdict or to join as observers. If the Appeal Court rules in favor of extradition, it is possible that Mr. Bdap may be sent back to Vietnam as early as the following day.
