Y Quynh Bdap

Y Quynh Bdap was charged with terrorism, allegedly in connection with the June 11, 2023 attack on government buildings in Dak Lak Province. Y Quynh was in Thailand at the time of the attack and claimed that he was not involved in any way. Despite charging him with terrorism, Vietnam has not made public any evidence against him to substantiate their claim. He was sentenced in absentia to 10 years' imprisonment. 

Previously, Y Quynh, who is an advocate for religious and ethnic minority groups in Vietnam, has been arrested a number of times and alleges that he was brutally beaten in 2010 while he was detained.

In 2008, after hundreds of people were jailed for demonstrating for equal rights for indigenous groups, Y Quynh compiled a list of people who were prosecuted for their political and religious beliefs and shared that list of political prisoners with members of his community. 

At that time, the Vietnamese government took land from Montagnards to build factories and rubber and coffee plantations with cheap compensation or even no compensation. Y Quynh found it unfair, so he helped people file lawsuits and get adequate compensation.

Due to his fear of imprisonment, in 2018 Y Quynh was forced to flee to Thailand as a refugee. There, he founded Montagnards Stand for Justice (MSFJ) to help fight for religious freedom and an end to discrimination of ethnic minority groups in Vietnam.

Photo source: RFA