DEFENDING DEMOCRACY IN EXILE Policy Responses to Transnational Repression Introduction I n November 2021, Thai authorities deported four Cambodian dissidents, Mich Heang, Lahn Thavry, Veourn Veasna, and Voeung Samnang, who were registered refugees living in the country under the protection of the UNHCR. All four were immediately arrested upon being returned to Cambodia. who helped to send uncensored radio broadcasts to China.3 As the recent case of the Cambodian dissidents demonstrates, it is not unusual for individuals under officially recognized international protection to be expelled from the country at the request of a foreign government. Thailand shares a border with many countries that have experienced significant political and social unrest. Tens of thousands of people from Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and China have crossed the border into Thailand seeking safety since the 1970s.1 Although the Thai government provides forcibly displaced people with support and humanitarian aid, migrants and asylum seekers lack legal status and are vulnerable to detention, enforced disappearance, rendition, and unlawful deportation. Since 2014, over 150 individuals in Thailand have been victims of transnational repression. In 2015, the government deported at least 109 Uyghurs to China.2 Multiple practitioners of Falun Gong have been detained by the Thai government, including Chiang Yung-Shin, a Taiwanese man Thai authorities lack awareness about the threat of transnational repression and have cooperated with foreign governments in detaining and deporting dissidents and members of vulnerable diasporas. The country’s foreign policy prioritizes building strong bilateral and multilateral relationships with countries in the region, which affects the protections available to those who may be targeted by transnational repression. Thailand lacks a legal framework for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers and views refugees primarily through a national security lens. Informality and discretion in extradition processes can also facilitate transnational repression. Suggested citation: Bochen Han, “Case Study: Thailand,” in Yana Gorokhovskaia and Isabel Linzer, Defending Democracy in Exile: Policy Responses to Transnational Repression (Washington, DC: Freedom House, June 2022), http://freedomhouse.org/report/ transnational-repression/thailand. 2 @FreedomHouse #TransnationalRepression