The Department of Corrections said in a statement late Friday that it had handed over Bdap, who had been in detention since his arrest in Bangkok in June 2024, to Thai police. He was sent back to Vietnam shortly afterward, according to Sunai Phasuk, senior researcher for Thailand with Human Rights Watch.

The United Nations, the Thai National Human Rights Commission and western governments had all warned that Bdap would face unjust prosecution, including a 10-year prison term and the risk of torture and ill-treatment, in Vietnam, Mr Sunai said in a post on X on Saturday.

Bdap was convicted for remotely orchestrating 2023 attacks in which gunmen on motorbikes opened fire on two police posts in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, killing nine people in a rare act of violence against the communist authorities. He has denied the allegations.

“Vietnam’s courts have a history of sentencing activists through procedures that do not meet international fair trial standards,” said Chanathip Tatiyakarunwong, Thailand researcher with Amnesty International.

“By handing over Y Quynh Bdap to authorities he has fled due to his unfair trial conviction, Thailand has violated one of the most fundamental protections of international law.

“Following the deportation of Uyghurs to China earlier this year, this is the second time Thailand has deported individuals who face a risk of serious human rights violations, despite having a prohibition on torture and the principle of non-refoulement, which came into effect in 2023.”

In international law, refoulement is the forcible return of refugees or asylum seekers to a country where they are liable to be subjected to persecution.

Religious minority

Bdap is an ethnic Ede, one of about 30 minority groups in the Central Highlands who were called Montagnards, or hill people, by the French colonialists.

The mainly Christian people say they have faced years of discrimination over religion and land rights. Vietnam rejects the accusations.

Vietnamese police say Bdap is the founder of Montagnards Stand for Justice. The group advocates for freedom of religion for Vietnam’s hill tribes and ethnic minorities, who have been branded “terrorists” by the authorities.

Bdap was arrested on June 11 last year after being interviewed by Canadian authorities at the country’s embassy in Bangkok about his refugee status in Canada.

The National Human Rights Commission earlier urged the Thai government not to deport Bdap, out of fear for his safety.

Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, said she was “appalled” by the decision of the Court of Appeal to permit the extradition.