Rights group: Release asylum seekers held in raids

BAngKoK: Thai authorities should release 35 Pakistani and Somali asylum seekers arrested in recent raids, a rights group said, slamming arrests that swept up more than a dozen children.

Most of the men, women and children held documents issued by the UN’s refugee agency when they were detained by police in Bangkok on Oct 21, 30 and 31, according to watchdog Fortify Rights.

A total of 19 children were initially arrested, with six – including four unaccompanied Somali minors – still in detention, the watchdog said.

Many of the adults were charged with overstaying their visas or other immigration violations.

Fortify Rights director Amy Smith called for their swift release and lambasted Thai authorities for “trampling on the rights of asylum seekers”.

“Asylum seekers fleeing persecution in their home countries shouldn’t experience further violations in Thailand,” she said.

Thailand’s porous borders, lax visa requirements and reputation for religious tolerance have made the kingdom a magnet for refugees fleeing persecution.

But the government refuses to differentiate between illegal immigrants and refugees, leaving asylum seekers vulnerable to arrest and deportation as they wait out yearslong vetting processes by the UNHCR.

Thailand allows the UNHCR to operate inside the country, where the agency is tasked with handling some 7,000 refugee cases.

But authorities often ignore the UNHCR’s “person of concern” documentation and have previously deported even some refugees lucky enough to secure approval for resettlement in third countries.