No Safe Haven: The Extradition of Y Quỳnh B’Đăp and a Need for Reform

Less than 48 hours after a Thai appellate court ruling, Ê Đê human rights activist Y Quỳnh B’Đăp was secretly extradited to Việt Nam. The sequence of events began on the evening of Nov. 28, when the Thai Department of Corrections transferred him to police custody.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) Senior Researcher Sunai Phasuk confirmed the handover occurred immediately thereafter, and by Nov. 30, Nadthasiri Bergman, LL.M. Esq. verified to the BBC that her client had been sent back to Việt Nam.

International watchdogs, including the HRW and Amnesty International, have denounced this as a severe failure by Thailand to uphold its human rights obligations. The criticism focuses on the Thai appellate court’s Nov. 26 ruling, which did not mandate extradition but merely stated that the proceeding would not violate Thai law.

The court reached this conclusion despite acknowledging Y Quỳnh B’Đăp’s United Nations refugee status and the fact that he faces a 10-year prison sentence on controversial terrorism charges from a trial held in absentia; they even stated  B’Đăp “would not face inhumane treatment” upon returning to Việt Nam.

For human rights experts, this case exemplifies a systemic flaw where states utilize extradition to target individuals for exercising freedom of expression or advocating for marginalized communities. This prioritization of diplomatic interests over human rights is the central theme of “Reforming International Extradition: Fairness, Individual Rights and Justice” by Sally Kennedy and Ian Warren.

In this significant study, Kennedy and Warren analyze how governments abuse extradition to pursue “political criminals” while courts fail to protect them from torture, ill-treatment, or unfair trials.

As Việt Nam increasingly pushes to extradite activists and political refugees—bolstered by the National Assembly's recent adoption of the Extradition Law—this book provides a timely framework for understanding the dangers inherent in the current international system where diplomatic interests often take precedence over human rights.

This book is a concise study that poses a fundamental question: Does the international extradition system truly uphold justice, or does it sacrifice individual human rights for the sake of interstate relations?

Kennedy and Warren argue that the traditional framework fosters dangerous power imbalances. By relying on bilateral agreements and executive discretion while limiting judicial review, the current system often undermines the “right to a fair trial” and the well-being of the extradited.

This flaw allows authoritarian regimes to weaponize extradition. As noted by many human rights organizations, states frequently abuse criminal charges or exploit Interpol’s red notice system to pursue dissidents abroad.

These concerns are validated by investigative reports, including the Human Rights Watch documentation of the “We Will Find You” trend. This research reveals how governments use abductions, threats, and legal mechanisms to repress journalists and activists—branding them as “national security threats” or “terrorists.”

In response, Kennedy and Warren propose a “defendant-centred” reform framework. They argue that the “right to fair treatment” must be the foundational value in extradition decisions, replacing the current reliance on diplomatic assurances.

Through real-world cases, the authors highlight systemic failures such as the “non-inquiry rule,” which prevents courts from examining the validity of charges in the requesting country, and the excessive deference judges show to diplomatic requests.

By combining legal theory with empirical data, the book provides the necessary context to understand cases like the extradition of Y Quỳnh B’Đăp. It compels readers to recognize that without systemic reform, extradition will remain a potent weapon for cross-border repression rather than an instrument of justice.

Thiên Tân wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on Dec. 2, 2025, as part of the “Reading with Đoan Trang” column, published every Tuesday. Đàm Vĩnh Hằng translated it into English for The Vietnamese Magazine.