Detention, Asylum and Capital Punishment: An Update on Human Rights in East Asia
By Steve BynumDetention, Asylum and Capital Punishment: An Update on Human Rights in East Asia
By Steve BynumSome of the world’s greatest crises have reached East Asia. Asylum seekers like Rahaf Mohammed, a Saudi teenager, and Hakeem al-Araibi, a Bahraini footballer, have been detained and threatened with deportation in Thailand. Both claimed credible fear to return to their home countries. Mohammed was detained on a layover to Australia where she’d hoped to seek asylum. She was just granted in Canada after that country intervened. Al-Araibi, a permanent citizen of Australia, was arrested while on vacation in Thailand by request of the Bahraini authorities for his anti-government activism. Meanwhile, China’s tensions with Canada have exacerbated when a court in Dalian sentenced a Canadian citizen to death for trying to smuggle methamphetamines through China to Australia. Some have argued that the death sentence was passed down in retaliation for Canada arresting a Chinese tech executive for her role in stealing intellectual property. We’ll talk about all of these unfolding cases with Phil Robertson, Asia division deputy director for Human Rights Watch.