Sawt Falasteen - Thailand opens extradition process for reporter sought by China

Bai Zhaodong, 56, exposed government corruption in China over two decades before leaving in 2023 to escape "mounting persecution from the state", according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Bai, who is recognised by the United Nations as a refugee, arrived in Thailand in 2024 and has been detained in the Southeast Asian country since January 2026, the media rights group says.

China's foreign ministry said in July that Bai was suspected of extortion and bribery, and an extradition request had been submitted to Thailand.

Bai's lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman told AFP her client had been arrested on Thursday morning and brought to the Criminal Court in Bangkok, where he confirmed he would fight the extradition.

Two Chinese embassy officials were present in court alongside an interpreter and his legal representation, Bergman said.

She added that the next hearing, to examine the evidence, was set for January 25.

"It is the beginning of the extradition hearing process," Prayuth Pecharakun, spokesman for Thailand's attorney general, told AFP.

- 'Scandalous' -

The hearing had not been previously announced, and came the day before an expected decision on Bai's legal challenge against Thai authorities over his continued detention.

Bai had been held at an immigration centre since January, but has now been moved to the Bangkok Remand Prison, where he will remain during the extradition proceedings, his lawyer said.

RSF advocacy manager Aleksandra Bielakowska said his treatment was "scandalous".

"Bringing Bai Zhaodong before a court without notice, on the eve of a decision on the legality of his detention, is scandalous and shows how eager the Thai authorities are to bow to Beijing's demands," she told AFP.

RSF believes his life could be at risk if he is returned to China.

"We call on the international community to demand that Bangkok halt his deportation and allow him to travel safely to the country of his choice," Bielakowska said.

Friday's detention hearing is expected to go ahead but Bai's lawyer said he would likely not attend as he was no longer held by immigration police.

An undisclosed third country has offered Bai asylum but two attempts to travel there were cancelled this year after Thai immigration authorities withheld exit clearance without explanation, his legal team says.

Thailand's foreign ministry has previously declined to comment on his case, and did not immediately respond to AFP's queries on Thursday.

- Repression of journalism -

Beijing has long sought to clamp down on dissidents overseas, and campaigners accuse authorities in Thailand -- where several notable activists have moved over the years -- of complicity in China's efforts.

Thailand is not a party to the UN Refugee Convention, but is bound by the international legal principle of non-refoulement, which bars countries from sending people back to places where their lives or freedom are in danger.

Nonetheless Bangkok deported 40 Uyghurs to China in February last year over the objections of activists, who said the men could be tortured or mistreated.

"For years, Bangkok has stepped up its cooperation with the Chinese authorities in their attempts to export their repression of journalism," the RSF's Bielakowska said.

"Today, it is the Thai justice system that is paving the way for the handover of a journalist, recognised as a UN refugee, to a system where he risks torture, in breach of international law."

Exiled Chinese activist Zhang Xinyan was arrested by Thai authorities in May for overstaying her visa, but following legal and diplomatic interventions, she was allowed to board a flight to Canada in August.

H.Darwish--SF-PST