ICCF: Thailand Chapter

Pakistani Christians were forced to leave Pakistan after being persecuted. The Thailand government has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, and Thailand has no formal national asylum framework. These Christians escaped Pakistan’s blasphemy law, where families are falsely accused and their homes and churches are burned, young girls forced into marriages. They ran to Thailand on visitor visas and when their visas expired, the people went under constant risk of arrest. Those arrested are taken to the Immigration Detention Center (IDC) in Thailand. So far, 13 people have died. One woman was pregnant, the baby died in her womb. Because no help was given her, she also died, and it took 5 days after her death to release the body. Now they are sending many back to Pakistan who had been held in the IDC where they are again incarcerated in Pakistan unless they can pay a high bribe.