Human Rights Watch
14 May 2019, 05:42 GMT+10
(New York) - Malaysian authorities forcibly returned a Thai asylum seeker to Thailand where she faces likely persecution for her peaceful political activities, Human Rights Watch said today. Praphan Pipithnamporn, who was registered as an asylum seeker by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), was repatriated to Bangkok on May 10, 2019, in violation of Malaysia's international legal obligations, and detained by Thai authorities.
"Malaysia's flouting of international law has placed a Thai activist at grave risk of arbitrary detention and an unjust prosecution in Thailand," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Malaysian authorities have an obligation to protect asylum seekers like Praphan from being forcibly returned to the risk of being persecuted for their peaceful political views."
On April 24, Malaysian police arrested Praphan at the request of Thai authorities. They sent her back to Thailand based on a Thai arrest warrant issued in January, accusing her of sedition and organized crime for her involvement with the Organization for Thai Federation, a peaceful anti-monarchy group.
Prior to fleeing to Malaysia, Praphan faced intimidation from Thai authorities. She was arrested several times between September and December 2018, and held in incommunicado military detention. She told Human Rights Watch the threats intensified after she participated in peaceful anti-monarchy activity during the birthday memorial for the late King Rama IX on December 5. On that day, she wore a black t-shirt with a logo of her group and handed out leaflets criticizing the monarchy in a Bangkok shopping mall.
Fearing for her safety, Praphan fled to Malaysia in January, and applied for refugee status with UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur. On April 2, the refugee agency registered her claim as an asylum seeker and designated her a "person of concern."
Under customary international law, Malaysia is obligated to ensure that no one is forcibly sent to a place where they would risk being subjected to persecution, torture, or other serious human rights violations.
Since the May 2014 military coup, Thai authorities have aggressively pursued anti-monarchy activists who have fled to neighboring countries - particularly those affiliated with the Organization for Thai Federation, which the Thai government considers an outlaw group. The Thai government has repeatedly demanded that Malaysia and other governments hand over exiled Thai political activists. Human Rights Watch expressed serious concerns about the safety of those repatriated to Thailand, after three anti-monarchy activists whom Vietnamese authorities returned on May 8 were then forcibly disappeared.
"UN agencies and concerned governments should speak out about the heightened crackdown on dissent and the recent enforced disappearances in Thailand," Adams said. "Neighboring countries should not be contributing to Thailand's increasingly dire human rights situation by sending asylum seekers into harm's way."
Source: Human Rights Watch
Get a daily dose of Malaysia Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Malaysia Sun.
More InformationLEMBATA, Indonesia: Indonesia's Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki erupted dramatically on June 18, generating substantial ash and smoke plumes....
NEW DELHI, India: Indian investigators are examining the black boxes from a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to determine the cause of a catastrophic...
NEW DELHI, India: The flight data recorder from the crashed Air India plane was found on June 13. This vital discovery may help investigators...
WUSHI, Taiwan: Inspired by how Ukraine has used sea drones effectively against Russia in the Black Sea, Taiwan is learning how to use...
NEW DELHI, India: Amid mounting U.S.-China trade tensions, Apple has sharply increased iPhone shipments from India to the United States,...
In Nepal's latest attempt to silence online speech, police are trying to arrest a well-known journalist who published on his YouTube...
HAYWARD, California: In a significant step toward its commercial debut, Amazon-owned Zoox has unveiled its first factory dedicated...
SAO PAULO, Brazil: Brazil is taking confident steps to restore its dominance in global poultry exports after declaring its commercial...
NEW YORK, New YorK - U.S. stocks closed mixed on Friday, with gains and losses modest, as investors and traders weighed up the escalation...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Retail sales dropped sharply in May as consumer spending slowed after a strong start to the year, primarily due to...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Mitsubishi Motors is the latest automaker to raise prices in the United States, joining a growing list of car companies...
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana: Eli Lilly is making a bold play in cardiovascular gene therapy, announcing plans to acquire its partner Verve...