Vietnamese authorities have asked the family of an ethnic Ede activist Hanoi convicted of “terrorism” in absentia to convince him to surrender instead of appealing the decision to extradite him from Thailand later this month, his family told RFA.
A human rights expert told RFA that Vietnam might be attempting orchestrating a “surrender show,” so authorities can tell the public that he and his family agreed that he should return on his own volition, rather than going through with the trial.
Y Quynh Bdap fled with his family to Thailand in 2018 to escape religious persecution.
As a member of the Ede ethnic minority, he is classified as a Montagnard, a term used to describe members of mainly Christian minority groups who live in Vietnam’s Central Highlands.
Bdap’s grandfather, like many Montagnards, worked with the U.S. military that fought alongside South Vietnamese forces in the 20-year war won by North Vietnam in 1975.
Y Quynh Bdap was granted refugee status by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, or UNHCR, but was arrested by Thai police in mid-2024 following an extradition request from Vietnam.
If extradited to Vietnam, Y Quynh Bdap faces a 10-year prison sentence for “terrorism,” a charge issued in absentia by the Dak Lak People’s Court in January 2024.
Authorities allege he played a role in directing attacks on two government offices that resulted in nine deaths. The activist has consistently denied these allegations.
In late September 2024, the Bangkok Criminal Court ruled that he should be extradited to Vietnam. The court also gave the Thai government 90 days to enforce the decision.
On Thursday, Y Quynh Bdap’s attorney Nadthasiri Bergman told RFA that her team was waiting to submit the appeal against the extradition order but provided no further details.
Call to surrender
On Wednesday, Y Phô Êban, the activist’s father, told RFA that an inter-agency group of representatives from the Dak Lak provincial government had visited the family of Y Quynh Bdap’s wife on December 25.
They handed his father-in-law a document titled “Letter Calling on the Wanted to Surrender,” and asked the family to “actively encourage Y Quynh Bdap to give himself up to receive leniency.”
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The group warned that if his family did not sign the document and failed to convince him to return to Vietnam, “the authorities won’t help if any issues or difficulties arise in the future.”
Y Quynh Bdap’s in-laws later called his father to tell him what happened, saying they refused to sign the document.
“We won’t let Y Quynh return because it’s too dangerous for him,” said Y Phô Êban. “The authorities here are very hostile. They threaten us and will show no leniency.”
He said the accusations against his son were fabricated.
“Since they’ve labeled Y Quynh a terrorist, I’m certain they won’t spare him,” he said.
RFA’s called the two telephone numbers listed in the letter from the inter-agency group to seek further information, but those calls went unanswered.
Thailand’s role
Since the arrest and detention of Mr. Y Quynh Bdap, Thailand has faced protests from many international human rights organizations.
They say Thailand’s anti-torture law should prevent his extradition to Vietnam where he may face torture and inhumane treatment.
Truong Minh Tam, a legal expert with the U.S.-based Civil Rights Project, which advocates for disadvantaged communities in Vietnam, believes Thailand is more likely to cooperate with Vietnam on a “surrender” plan than to allow Mr. Y Quynh Bdap to resettle in a third country.
“It’s very likely that the Vietnamese government, by all means, will orchestrate the narrative of Y Quynh Bdap surrendering himself or that he was won over and bailed out by his relatives,” said Tam.
But he said Thailand would likely try to gauge international opinion before agreeing to such a plan.
One of Y Quynh Bdap’s attorneys told human rights group Project 88 in late December that if no countries offered him asylum by late January, it was almost certain that Y Quynh Bdap would be extradited to Vietnam.
Project 88 disclosed that Bdap applied for asylum in Canada but Ottawa stalled his application after Vietnam announced the terrorism charges against him.
Right before his arrest, the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok interviewed him for resettlement purposes.
Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Eugene Whong.