3/25/2024 Thailand (International Christian Concern) – Vietnamese Montagnard Christians and other Vietnamese refugees are continually being questioned and harassed in Thailand by both Thai and Vietnamese officials.
On March 14, Thai police took Vietnamese police officers to Bang Len District, where multiple Montagnard Christians are living with their families after having fled to Thailand to seek safety from persecution and obtain official refugee status.
On this occasion, the Thai police lined up the Montagnards outside their homes. Vietnamese police then began questioning the Montagnards and tried to persuade them to return to Vietnam, where officials would care for them. They were promised leniency, vehicles, and other bribes to get them to return to Vietnam.
Most of the Montagnards, who are Christians from the Central Highlands of Vietnam, were not swayed or convinced by these offers of safety and material gain if they returned to their home country. Vietnamese officials have been seeking extradition of their citizens seeking refugee status in Thailand, leading to increased harassment and imprisonment of numerous Vietnamese in Bangkok.
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