Thailand: Ethnic Karen face deportation to Myanmar, says Human Rights Watch

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Mizzima

Thai authorities should halt the imminent deportation of 26 ethnic Karen villagers from Phetchaburi province to Myanmar and release them from immigration detention, Human Rights Watch said on 18 August.

On 10 August 2026, district and forestry officials along with the Thai military raided the Karen community in Ban Pa Deng village in Phetchaburi province’s Kaeng Krachan National Park, targeting those without proof of Thai citizenship. The authorities arrested twenty-eight villagers, including eight children and two pregnant women, and placed them in the custody of the Phetchaburi provincial immigration office.

Two villagers were later released after local officials verified their residence registration records. The immigration office then transferred the remaining 26 villagers to the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok to prosecute them on immigration charges and deport them to Myanmar.