Thailand to Send Hmong Refugees Back to Laos

Thousands of ethnic Hmong refugees from Laos have poured into northeastern Thailand over the past four years, fleeing persecution by the Laotian government. Thai officials have responded by putting these men, women and children into heavily-guarded camps or even prisons, and denying access to international organizations such as the U.N.

Now the government of Thailand has announced that it will be sending the refugees back to Laos, where they will likely face harsh punishment or even death at the hands of the ruling dictatorship.

This is not the first outrageous measure against refugees by Thai officials; in January of this year, the Thai military revealed that it had been setting Rohingya refugees from Burma adrift at sea in disabled boats.

Photo of Hmong refugee Pao Choua Khang by Paula Bronstein / Getty Images.