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.”
