As of 4 May 2020, Thailand had recorded 2,987 cases of Covid-19 and 54 deaths related to the disease. Among those with the infection are immigration detainees. On 25 April, 42 detainees in the Sadoa Immigration Detention Centre tested positive. The Immigration Police Chief told the press that 73 migrant detainees (out of a total 115) still had to be tested, including children.
Thailand’s 22 detention centres house “illegal immigrants,” a category that ranges from visitors who have overstayed a 90-day tourist visa, to asylum seekers and refugees. Amnesty International reported that official regulations allow for cell sizes to be a minimum of 1.19 meters per person. According to the NGO Fortify Right, “detention centres were meant for people to stay for 15 days, and then leave. But in Thailand, you can stay there for years, and it’s not designed for that.”
The Global Detention Project previously reported that the length of stay for detainees in Thailand ranges from 3 days to 12 years, with asylum seekers and refugees having been detained for periods of over two years. Several reports of lengthy detention periods originate from Bangkok’s Detention Centre: Suan Phlu. The centre is reported to have the highest number of detainees in the country. While NGOs and detainees maintain that there are over one thousand detainees in the centre, the government has refused to publish official statistics.
A former detainee in Suan Phlu stated that the centre “was so crowded, some of us slept standing up, or in turns. If you turn your legs, you will lose your space.” In addition, detainees have revealed that they are separated by gender and perceived ethnicity: “room 8 for the black people, Room 11 for the brown people.” Certain measures have been put in place to remedy this, including the expansion of Sadao detention centre with a new building and the relocation of certain detainees from the Suan Phlu centre.
While officials maintain that they are conducting widespread testing in detention facilities, other healthcare provisions are limited. Former detainees have said that there is only one nurse in Suan Phlu detention centre. On 25 April, the government stated that detainees, mostly from Myanmar and others from Vietnam, Cambodia and Malaysia, would receive proper treatment in accordance with humanitarian standards.
- WorldoMeter, “Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic,” accessed on 4 May 2020, https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
- J. Chia, “Thailand’s Outbreak Spike Exposes Conditions in Migrant Detention Centre,” Thai Enquirer, 30 April 2020, https://www.thaienquirer.com/12519/thailands-outbreak-spike-exposes-conditions-in-migrant-detention-centre/
- Immigration Detainees Stand Behind Bars at an Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok, (Romeo Gacad, AFP, Getty Images, “Thailand’s Outbreak Spike Exposes Conditions in Migration Detention Centre,” Thai Enquirer, 30 April 2020, https://www.thaienquirer.com/12519/thailands-outbreak-spike-exposes-conditions-in-migrant-detention-centre/)
