Five of those arrested in Pathum Thani had UN refugee status, says rights group
PUBLISHED : 29 Nov 2024 at 17:48
Thai authorities have “forcibly” returned six Cambodian political opposition activists and a young child, putting them at risk of unfair trials and mistreatment in Cambodia, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Friday.
The group urged Cambodian authorities to immediately drop the “politically motivated charges” against the refugees and an asylum seeker and unconditionally release them.
Thai immigration officials in Pathum Thani arrested the seven people, including the 5-year-old grandson of one activist, on Nov 24. Authorities alleged they were staying in the country illegally and forcibly returned them to Cambodia the next day, said HRW.
Cambodian authorities have since detained Pen Chan Sangkream, Hong An, Mean Chanthon, Yin Chanthou, Soeung Khunthea and Vorn Chanratchana in three separate prisons under arrest warrants issued by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court. The 5-year-old boy was released to family members.
“Thai officials have used immigration charges as a convenient excuse to deport these Cambodian refugees without court review and in blatant disregard for fundamental refugee protection principles,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director of HRW.
Cambodian authorities have charged five of the six detainees with “plotting” under article 453 of the criminal code, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
According to HRW, the charges stem from a criminal case file opened on Aug 15 related to protests against a trade and cooperation agreement between Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
The six detainees are supporters of the dissolved opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) and its subsequent incarnations. They travelled to Thailand in 2022, where five were recognised as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The sixth was awaiting a refugee status determination, HRW said.
Since the dissolution of the CNRP in 2017, the Cambodian government has pursued former CNRP members — including those living in exile in Thailand — on politically motivated charges, HRW said.
In February this year, Thai police arrested three opposition activists in Bangkok ahead of Prime Minister Hun Manet’s visit to Thailand. Hun Manet expressed his gratitude to then-Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin for his commitment not to allow people to conduct “harmful activities” against neighboring countries.
That same month, Thai authorities detained three former Candlelight Party members who had fled to Thailand for fear of political persecution.
A recent Human Rights Watch report, “‘We Thought We Were Safe’: Repression and Refoulement of Refugees in Thailand”, documents a pattern of transnational repression in which Thai authorities helped neighbouring governments take unlawful actions against dissidents and activists seeking protection in Thailand.
In exchange, Thai authorities were able to target critics of the Thai government living in Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia as part of a “swap mart” for refugees and dissidents.
Thailand’s Act on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearances, which came into effect in February 2023, states that “no government organisations or public officials shall expel, deport, or extradite a person to another state where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, or enforced disappearance”.
“By deporting these refugee and asylum seekers, Thailand’s government violated its international legal obligations,” HRW said.
Thailand recently won approval for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), for a three-year term starting on Jan 1, 2025.