(LiCAS) Authorities near the Thai capital Bangkok have arrested and defrocked an activist Buddhist monk from Cambodia despite his refugee status, a fellow refugee said Wednesday, expressing fears he will be deported to his authoritarian homeland. Ven. Bor Bet, a vocal critic of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s authoritarian government, had taken refuge in Thailand in November 2020 to avoid arrest for his participation in protests in Phnom Penh demanding the release of a popular labor union leader arrested in a sweeping crackdown on the opposition and civil society. (...)
