Vietnam: The Government Must Immediately Disclose the Whereabouts and Guarantee the Safety of Religious Activist Y Quynh Bdap

Y Quynh Bdap, a peaceful Christian activist from Vietnam’s Central Highlands and a member of the Indigenous Montagnard community, has long worked to document abuses against Montagnard peoples and advocate for religious freedom and other related human rights. As a result of his peaceful activism, he faced harassment and persecution in Vietnam and subsequently sought safety in Thailand where he became a UNHCR-recognized refugee.

Thailand’s decision to extradite Mr. Bdap constitutes a serious breach of the principle of nonrefoulement, a cornerstone of international binding customary human rights law. The UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT), to which Thailand is a state party, strictly prohibits transferring any person to a country where they face a risk of torture or ill-treatment. Thailand’s own Act on the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance (2022) incorporates this principle into domestic law and expressly forbids returning anyone to a place where they may face torture.

Since his forced return, Vietnamese authorities have provided no information about Mr. Bdap’s whereabouts, health, or legal status. His family, lawyers, and the international community have been left without answers. This lack of transparency raises the gravest concerns about him being subjected to arbitrary detention, torture and even enforced disappearance, which constitutes a continuing violation under international human rights law.

The targeting of Mr. Bdap—an exiled activist—is a clear example of transnational repression, in which governments pursue dissidents abroad to silence criticism, in violation of international standards protecting refugees and exiled human rights defenders. Thailand’s collaboration with Vietnamese authorities not only endangered Mr. Bdap but also sent a chilling message to all Vietnamese refugees and asylum seekers who have sought safety within Thai borders.

In light of these deeply alarming developments, we call for immediate and coordinated action:

To the Government of Thailand

• Locate Y Quynh Bdap immediately and take all necessary steps to ascertain his safety and wellbeing.
• Request and conduct an in-person prison visit, as Vietnamese authorities have previously stated they would permit Thai officials to do upon request.
• Cease all cooperation with Vietnamese police in operations targeting Vietnamese refugees, asylum seekers, and human rights defenders in Thailand.
• Uphold Thailand’s obligations under the UN Convention against Torture, and the 2022 Thai Act on the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance to ensure that similar violations never occur again.

To Diplomatic Missions in Vietnam

• Demand information from the Vietnamese government regarding the whereabouts, detention conditions, and legal status of Y Quynh Bdap.
• Request immediate access to visit him in detention, in line with international human rights norms and Vietnam’s diplomatic obligations.

To All Governments and Resettlement States

• Provide immediate protection and fast-track resettlement pathways for Y Quynh Bdap’s wife and children, who remain at grave risk as reprisals against them intensify.
• Provide urgent asylum pathways for Vietnamese refugees and human rights defenders currently in Thailand who face heightened danger of transnational repression.
• Prioritise protection mechanisms for activists from the Montagnard community and other persecuted groups.

As a coalition of international and civil society organisations, we will continue to raise this case at every relevant national, regional, and international level until Mr. Bdap’s fate is known and his rights are fully protected.

Signatories

NGOs:

1. 112Watch
2. ACAT Belgium (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture)
3. ACAT Burundi (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture)
4. ACAT France (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture)
5. ACAT Germany (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture)
6. Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates (AHRLA)
7. Children Education Society (CHESO), Tanzania
8. Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF)
9. Freedom House
10. ilaw
11. Law and Democracy Support Foundation e.V. (LDSF)
12. Peace Rights Foundation
13. Society for Threatened Peoples, Germany (GfbV)
14. SOS Torture / Burundi
15. Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), South Korea
16. Viet Tan
17. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Individuals:

1. Chris MacLeod, Founding Partner, Cambridge LLP
2. Jean-Daniel Vigny, Former Minister at the FDFA of Switzerland, Peace and Human Rights Division