A/HRC/60/62 166. The Government clarified that based on Viet Nam’s request, on 11 June 2024, Thai Royal Police arrested Mr. Y Quynh Bdap for illegal immigration and terrorism and that the criminal judgement from 20 January 2024 had been submitted to Thailand’s Criminal Court for extradition proceedings. It informed further that on 13 June 2024, a Thai prosecutor filed an extradition case with Bangkok Criminal Court, based on an extradition request from Viet Nam. On 30 September 2024, Thailand’s Criminal Court ruled in favour of extraditing Mr. Y Quynh Bdap to Viet Nam. The Government stated further its position that Mr. Y Quynh Bdap should be extradited to Viet Nam to serve his sentence. 167. On 14 June 2024, mandate holders addressed accusations made by Vietnamese authorities against the NGO Boat People SOS (BPSOS), based in the United States and Thailand, of “terrorism” in response to its advocacy for religious freedom in Viet Nam (VNM 4/2024). BPSOS’ advocacy includes active engagement with the United Nations and its human rights mechanisms on the human rights situation in Viet Nam. During the reporting period, BPSOS engaged with special procedures and submitted several reports to human rights mechanisms, including joint reports for the adoption of the list of issues prior to Viet Nam’s review by the Human Rights Committee,68 to the Universal Periodic review of Viet Nam, 69 and to the Committee Against Torture concerning Viet Nam in the context of Thailand’s review.70 168. On 14 February 2025, a few months after BPSOS submissions to human rights mechanisms were made public on OHCHR’s website, the Ministry of Public Security of Viet Nam publicly announced on its website and on social media that BPSOS was involved in “terrorism” and “works closely with MSFJ, that had carried out the terrorist attack on 11 June 2023 in Dak Lak Province.” 169. BPSOS denies involvement in terrorism and views the designation as a pretext for further suppressing Vietnamese groups in exile, particularly those that document and expose human rights violations against ethnic and religious minorities and Indigenous Peoples. 170. During the interactive dialogue of the fourth Universal Periodic Review of Viet Nam held on 7 May 2024, it was recommended that the State refrain from and prevent cases of intimidation and reprisals against civil society actors who engage with the United Nations and its human rights mechanisms, including treaty bodies, special procedures and the universal period review. It was also recommended that the State ensure that all reprisals by state authorities against all individuals who cooperate with the United Nations on human rights issues end immediately (A/HRC/57/7 para 42.34). Viet Nam accepted 253 recommendations fully and 18 partially, which did not include the latter(A/HRC/57/7/Add.1). 171. On 31 July 2025, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report, reaffirming its Human Rights Policy, expressing readiness for dialogue and information sharing with the UN and requesting a reassessment of the credibility of the sources of the allegations and to exclude the allegations from the report. 172. With regard to MSFJ, Mr. Bdap and BPSOS, the Government objected to the use of the term “Montagnard” in United Nations official documents to refer to any ethnic group in Viet Nam, citing its colonial and discriminatory origins. It highlighted its counter- terrorism legal framework and stated that it has credible evidence of MSFJ’s terrorist nature and Mr. Bdap’s direct role in the 11 June 2023 Dak Lak attack, which resulted in the killing of nine people, the injury of two others, and significant property damage. The Government noted MSFJ’s designation as a terrorist organization on 6 March 2024, based on a court judgement issued on 20 January 2024. The Government further stated that BPSOS incited 68 tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=2824&Lang= en. BPSOS submitted four joint reports, (two jointly with Montagnards Stand for Justice) for the List of Issues and other four joint reports, (three jointly with Montagnards Stand for Justice) for the review of Viet Nam’s 4th report by the Human Rights Committee. tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/ treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=2824&Lang=en. 69 https://docs.un.org/en/A/HRC/WG.6/46/VNM/3;, See Joint submissions 12 and 18: https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/vn-stakeholders-info-s46. 70 tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=INT%2FCAT%2 FCSS%2FTHA%2F60285&Lang=en. 42