Thailand: Don’t Return Vietnamese Activist
Le
Chi Thanh Faces Risk of Arbitrary Detention, Torture, Bogus Prosecution
HRW
| 2026.03.12
(Sydney, March 12, 2026) – The Thai authorities
should immediately release Le Chi Thanh, a prominent Vietnamese anti-corruption
activist, and ensure that he is not forcibly returned to Vietnam, Human Rights
Watch said today.
Le Chi Thanh’s lawyers told Human Rights Watch that the Vietnamese embassy in
Bangkok has been pressing Thai authorities to deport him as soon as possible to
Vietnam, where he would be at serious risk of arbitrary detention, torture, and
an unfair trial.
“Returning Le Chi Thanh to Vietnam would place the outspoken anti-corruption
activist in grave danger,” said Elaine
Pearson, Asia director
at Human Rights Watch. “Thai authorities should immediately release him,
reinstate his visa, and ensure he is not put in harm’s way.”
On March 6, 2026, Thai immigration police arrested Le Chi Thanh, 43, at his
house in Pathum Thani province. The arrest came after Vietnamese authorities
cancelled Le Chi Thanh’s passport, which contained his visa, leaving him without
a valid travel document to stay in Thailand. He is currently detained at
Bangkok’s Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center while he appeals the
Immigration Bureau’s order to revoke his visa and deport him to Vietnam.
Le Chi Thanh is a former police officer who uses social media to expose police
corruption in Vietnam. Before coming to Thailand in September 2025, Le Chi Thanh
suffered persecution in Vietnam for years.
In April 2021, Le Chi Thanh was arrested
and tortured in police
custody in Vietnam. After that, a Thu Duc city court sentenced
him to two years in prison for
having previously resisted arrest. In June 2022, a Binh Thuan provincial court sentenced
Le Chi Thanh to an additional three years in prison under
article 331 of Vietnam’s penal code for allegedly “abusing the rights to freedom
and democracy in order to infringe upon the interests of the state, the
legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals.” The charges
are related to a number of videos he posted on Facebook criticizing corruption
in the country. He was released in June 2025 and subsequently traveled to
Thailand.
Vietnamese authorities have long used vague provisions in Vietnam’s penal code
and other laws to crush all forms of dissent, including criticism of even
low-level officials, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch, in a November
2025 report, documented
a pattern of transnational repression in which Thai authorities in recent years
have been assisting the Vietnamese government to undertake unlawful actions
against exiled Vietnamese activists and dissidents, including those recognized
as refugees by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR). In exchange, Thai
authorities have been able to target
exiled Thai dissidents living in Vietnam.
Most recently, in November 2025, Thai authorities forcibly returned to Vietnam
the prominent Montagnard human rights activist Y
Quynh Bdap.
Thailand’s Prevention
and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act prohibits
extradition when there is a substantial risk of torture or ill-treatment upon
return.
In addition, Thailand is obligated to respect the international law principle of
nonrefoulement, which prohibits countries from returning anyone to a place where
they would face a real risk of persecution, torture, or other serious
ill-treatment, or a threat to their life. This principle is codified in the United
Nations Convention Against Torture,
to which Thailand is a party, and customary international law.
“As Thailand prepares to have its human rights record reviewed at the UN Human
Rights Council in November, concerned governments should urge Thailand to end
its collusion with Vietnam to repress critics and dissidents in exile,” Pearson
said. “Releasing Le Chi Thanh will show that Thailand is on the right track to
meet its human rights obligations.”