Source photographAn elderly Montagnard woman sits at the door of a “house church” in Kret Krot village in Vietnam’s Central Highlands on September 26, 2013. Credit: © 2013 AP Photo/Chris Brummitt. View with the original reporting →
Human Rights Watch documented the arrest of 181 refugees and asylum seekers in Nonthaburi in August 2018, including more than 50 children, and raised concerns about detention and interpretation.
A mass arrest in Bang Yai
Human Rights Watch reported that Thai security, police, immigration, and military personnel arrested 181 Vietnamese and Cambodian refugees and asylum seekers at homes in Bang Yai district on 28 August 2018. The organization said most were Dega, most held UN refugee status, and more than 50 were children. Officials charged people with illegal entry or stay under Thailand’s Immigration Act.
The release said UNHCR representatives sought the release of recognized persons of concern but were unsuccessful. It also reported that 34 Cambodian nationals were sent to Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center and 38 Vietnamese refugees were taken to a Nonthaburi court, where proceedings lacked a proper Jarai-language interpreter.
Human Rights Watch called for immediate release and warned against return to persecution. The counts describe this specific August 2018 operation and should not be combined with figures from other years or treated as a current Dega population estimate.
Terminology and attribution
Human Rights Watch uses “Montagnard” in the source. Operation Siam uses Dega in its own voice and preserves “Jarai” where the report identifies the language and community. The account and recommendations remain attributed to Human Rights Watch.
Sources and further reading
- Human Rights Watch — Thailand: Release Ethnic Minority Refugees, Asylum Seekers — Original release dated 29 August 2018 EDT; the URL reflects 30 August in Bangkok time.
External links are provided for verification and further reading. A citation does not imply endorsement, partnership, or control by the cited institution.
This news brief is an original Operation Siam summary of the cited reporting. It preserves source attribution, does not reproduce the source article, and does not imply endorsement, partnership, or independent verification by Operation Siam.