Khieo Lapchanh, a 26-year-old Lao activist and content creator, was reported missing in Thailand on Sept. 15 after finishing his work shift in Samut Sakhon province. His disappearance occurred one day before he was scheduled for an asylum registration interview with the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Lapchanh moved to Thailand in 2019 and began posting videos to his Facebook page, “Khiew Channel,” in late 2025. The page, which has approximately 159,000 followers, featured content critical of the Lao government, including members of the Siphandone family who hold senior government positions.
Prior to his disappearance, Lapchanh had reportedly received death threats and was the subject of a bounty. According to reports, he had ceased his public activism after Lao officials visited his mother’s home in Laos.
Lapchanh’s case follows other incidents involving Lao activists in Thailand. In August 2019, Od Sayavong, a member of the activist group Free Lao, disappeared in Bangkok while awaiting resettlement. Thai police have stated their investigation has not progressed. In May 2023, the body of Bounsuan Kitiyano, a UNHCR-recognized refugee and another Free Lao member, was found with gunshot wounds in Ubon Ratchathani province near the Lao border. No one has been charged in his death.
In a 2024 report, Human Rights Watch documented 25 cases of what it termed “transnational repression” in Thailand since 2014. The report stated that refugees and asylum seekers have been subjected to surveillance, abductions, and forced returns. It described a situation where foreign dissidents in Thailand are exchanged for critics of the Thai government located in other countries.
Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, and its domestic laws do not formally recognize the status of refugees or asylum seekers, who can be treated as illegal immigrants subject to deportation.
On Sept. 23, a group of more than 130 U.N. human rights experts issued a joint statement calling on states to combat transnational repression and to expedite asylum and resettlement processes for individuals at risk.
Global monitoring groups have published reports on civic and political conditions in Laos. The 2025 Freedom House index gave Laos a score of 13 out of 100 for global freedom. The organization CIVICUS has rated civic space in the country as “closed.”
