Statement Call for the Thai Government not to extradite ‘Y Quynh Bdap’. CrCF points out that Thailand may be violating Section 13 of the Anti-Torture Act and the principle of Non-Refoulement.
Today (November 26, 2025) at 2:00 PM, the Court of Appeals on Ratchadaphisek Road read the verdict in the extradition case of Mr. Y Quynh Bdap, a Vietnamese refugee and religious freedom activist, Red Case No. Phor Dor 9/2567. The Court upheld the lower court’s verdict and ordered Mr. Bdap to be sent back to Vietnam.
The Court of Appeals concluded that, despite Thailand not having an extradition convention with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, However, the Court can cooperate on the principle of reciprocity. The Court also recognized the fact that Y Quynh Bdap has refugee status under the protection of the principles of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Convention. However, the Court found that the Court could not interfere with the Vietnamese court’s consideration. The Court only considers whether the offense for which extradition is requested is an offense stipulated in the Extradition Act, without considering the procedural law or criminal procedure of the requesting country. In this case, Y Quynh Bdap was prosecuted for terrorism and sentenced to 10 years in prison. It is not an offense unrelated to politics or military matters. The Court also did not believe that if Y Quynh Bedab were returned, he would face danger or inhumane treatment or degrading human dignity under the Prevention of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act B.E. 2565 (2022), because there was no evidence that Y Quynh Bdap was assaulted or threatened while in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam’s detention, and the Vietnamese government had guaranteed his safety. It is believed that when sent back, there will be no danger or cruelty. The Court of Appeal’s decision is final.
However, the order to extradite Mr. Y Quynh Bdap is not a final order. This is because, under Section 22 of the Extradition Act B.E. 2551 (2008), it is stipulated that after the court issues a final order to extradite a person, the process of extradition proceeds only after the Thai government considers and approves the surrender of that person. If the Thai government does not consider approving the surrender within 90 days as stipulated in Section 20, the person must be released.
Furthermore, Ministerial Regulation No. B.E. 2553 (2010) of the Ministry of Justice states in Clause 7 (2) final paragraph that: “In cases where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is of the opinion that the said request may affect international relations or there are other reasons why the request cannot be fulfilled, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall promptly submit that opinion along with the request for extradition to the Cabinet for consideration.”
“We call upon the Prime Minister, as the head of the government, to consider the reasons related to human rights and Thailand’s image in the international community, because Thailand might be seen as cooperating with certain states in the forced return of refugees, which consistently contradicts universal principles, customary law, and even Thai law itself. For instance, the repatriation of 40 Uyghur individuals to China, disregarding criticisms from all sides. Not extraditing Mr. Y Quynh Bdap will allow the Thai government to maintain its dignity and pride in being a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council,” said Pornpen Khongkachornkiet, Director of the Cross-Cultural Foundation (CrCF).
The Thai Court of Appeals’ judgment may contradict Section 13 of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act B.E. 2565 (2022), which prohibits any state agency or state official from expelling, returning, or extraditing a person to another state if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person would be in danger of being subjected to torture, cruel treatment, or enforced disappearance. Furthermore, there is the principle of Non-Refoulement, which is a customary international law binding upon all states worldwide. The decision not to extradite Mr. Y Quynh Bdap at this time would allow the Thai government to demonstrate that it is acting in accordance with the human rights principles in which the international community still holds confidence.
Mr. Y Quynh Bdap, a 32-year-old Vietnamese religious freedom activist who practices Christianity, is a core leader advocating for religious freedom for ethnic minority groups. He was accused of terrorism by the Vietnamese government in connection with the 2024 unrest. However, he has pleaded not guilty to involvement in the incident and claims his rights advocacy is peaceful and non-violent. He has been granted refugee status and international protection by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Mr. Y Quynh Bdap had sought refuge in Thailand since 2018 and received refugee status and international protection from the UNHCR. Subsequently, on June 11, 2024, Mr. Bdap was arrested by Immigration Police officials, citing an extradition request and a Vietnamese court verdict convicting him of terrorism related to the 2023 unrest in Dak Lak province.
However, the case in which Mr. Bdap was a defendant was conducted through a Mobile Court in a trial in absentia along with 99 other defendants. This format has been widely criticized and questioned by international experts from the United Nations as a court model that lacks a clear legal basis and is not independent from political influence.
“It is a biased tool used to collectively stigmatize the defendants without properly assessing individual responsibility. The terrorism charge is vague and overly broad, and the trial is not fair according to international law,” said a United Nations expert.
United Nations experts and special mechanisms expressed concern about the risk of extraditing Mr. Bdap on October 16, 2024, following the lower court’s order to detain him pending extradition in September. The expert group believes that if extradited, Mr. Bdap would be in danger of facing torture, cruel treatment, or enforced disappearance, which violates the principle of Non-Refoulement, a customary international law binding on all states.
Furthermore, Human Rights Watch reported in 2024 that Vietnam routinely suppresses and cracks down on people expressing political opinions, freedom of assembly, and association, including the persecution of people based on their religious beliefs. If Mr. Bdap is sent back to serve his sentence for a political case in a Vietnamese prison, as stated in the request from the Thai prosecutor acting on behalf of the Vietnamese prosecutor, he will be at risk of torture and inhuman treatment, as reports of human rights violations have been documented in that prison and several others in Vietnam.
Southeast Asia has long been a region of persistent transnational repression, with common patterns such as stalking, forced deportations without due process, enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the abuse of cross-border laws. In the case of Thailand and Vietnam, in addition to Mr. Bdap, three Thai political refugees, Siam Theerawut, Chucheep Chiwasut, and Kritsana Thapthai, were reportedly last seen in Vietnam. Allegedly, Vietnamese refugees have also been unlawfully deported from Thailand, such as Duong Van Thai in 2014 and Truong Duy Nhat in 2019. Vietnamese refugee communities have reported frequent surveillance, harassment, and enforced disappearances by Vietnamese authorities, which constitute serious violations of Thailand’s sovereignty. This form of serious human rights violation includes the deportation of 40 Uighurs to China in February 2015, which drew widespread international criticism.
The Cross-Cultural Foundation (CrCF) is a human rights organization certified by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). It works on the promotion and protection of human rights and access to justice for the public. Therefore, CrCF calls upon the Thai authorities to consider the following recommendations:
- In the case of Mr. Bdap, there is sufficient reason to believe that if he is extradited, he will be in danger of being tortured, etc. The Thai authorities must not surrender Mr. Y Quynh Bdap to the Vietnamese authorities, in accordance with the principle of Non-Refoulement and Section 13 of the Act on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance B.E. 2565.
- Coordinate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to resettle Mr. Y Quynh Bdap in a third country, as Thailand pledged at the 2nd Global Refugee Forum in 2023 that it would expand cooperation with third countries to find sustainable solutions for various groups of asylum seekers in Thailand.
- Cease the deportation of Mr. Mr. Bdap and respect the principle of non-refoulement, which is a customary international practice that binds the Thai government to the duty to protect and defend human rights equally.
Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF)
