A coalition of human rights organizations urged The EU and its member states on Wednesday called for transparency and human rights protection in ongoing negotiations over a bilateral extradition treaty between Vietnam and Thailand, warning that the agreement could provide a legal framework for the politically motivated arrest and forced repatriation of Vietnamese dissidents and refugees.
The statement signed by Amnesty InternationalHuman Rights Watch, Reporters Without Bordersand 15 other organizations said the proposed extradition treaty and a companion treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters lacked public transparency and could be used to justify deportations that violate international human rights law Refugee lawincluding the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return of persons to countries where they are at risk of persecution or torture.
The cases documented in the statement, the organizations say, already reflect this pattern. Y Quynh Bdapa Montagnard human rights defender who was recognized as a refugee in Thailand was forcibly returned to Vietnam in 2025 following a Vietnamese extradition request. Journalist Truong Duy Nhat disappeared in Thailand in 2019 while seeking asylum and later resurfaced in Vietnamese custody, where he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Duong Van Thaia journalist and human rights defender, was allegedly kidnapped in Thailand in 2023 and sentenced to 12 years in prison in Vietnam the following year. Le Chi Thanhan anti-corruption activist and social media advocate, has been held at the Suan Phlu immigration detention center in Bangkok since March 2026 after Vietnamese authorities confiscated his passport without notification.
“This repression no longer takes place within Vietnam’s borders,” the statement said. “Recent high-level state visits between Thai and Vietnamese authorities have signaled a dangerous escalation of bilateral security cooperation that goes beyond legitimate security objectives and includes illegitimate attacks on individuals for political reasons.”
The organizations called on the EU to rely on its recently established measures Comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam and argued that Vietnam’s behavior violated the human rights obligations enshrined in that agreement. They called on the EU to require that any extradition agreement contain provisions banning extradition for political offenses and guaranteeing protection from non-refoulement. Neither the Vietnamese nor Thai governments had publicly commented on the statement at the time of publication.
