Washington DC: December 11, 2016. (PCP) R.E.A.L Chief Coordinator Mr. Jeffery Imm writes to Counselor Menasavet at Royal Kingdom of Thailand in DC, for mercy to Pakistan Christian Refugee Arrests in Thailand with reference to International Human Rights Day as Thai Immigration arrested more 45 Christian asylum seekers duly registered with UNHCR Bangkok. Mr. Imm submitted “Today, December 10, 2016, the great Kingdom of Thailand, your allies in United States of America, and the rest of the world celebrate "Human Rights Day," recognizing the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) on December 10, 1948. The UDHR was adopted by the nations of the world, including your nation and the United States of America, after terrible abuses against human rights and crimes against humanity. The Kingdom of Thailand has also been a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) since October 29, 1996. It is also "Constitution Day" today for your nation” “In the 21st century, the world, including the Kingdom of Thailand, the United States of America, and other nations have suffered due to a new stream of extremists who use terrorism and violent persecution against religious minorities around the world. It is facing these human right threats that Pakistan religious minority Christians have fled as refugees seeking asylum in your nation” he added Mr. Imm wrote “As Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) has discussed with you, Pakistan religious minority Christians have been struggling through the refugee status determination (RSD) process with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangkok. We and other volunteers have been trying to provide assistance to these desperate refugees from extremist persecution in their native Pakistan. R.E.A.L. has been told today of a mass arrest of 46 such refugees seeking asylum, by the Thai immigration authorities. I understand the need to enforce immigration law. But R.E.A.L. urges you to consider mercy for the case of these Pakistan Christian refugees who have fled to Thailand seeking asylum not as financial migrants, but as desperate people seeking freedom of religious and freedom from prosecution” “We will continue to ask the UNHCR in Bangkok to try to assist these desperate refugees. But we plead for mercy to the Thai government on this Human Rights Day to show mercy to these desperate Pakistan Christian refugees that have been arrested today. Please consider their release to allow them to pursue seeking refuge in Thailand from the forces of persecution they face in Pakistan” Mr. Jeffery said Meanwhile, BPCA in a press release said 45 Pakistani Christians were arrested during the early hours of 10th December 2017 at 7am in Thailand (1 am GMT). All the asylum seekers had live asylum claims with the UNHCR and held ID cards proving their registration. However, the ID cards though shown were simply taken form the forlorn asylum seekers who were then told to sit on the floor and many of them cuffed outside their homes. Police officers and immigration officers collaborated to entrap the victims at such an early hour to maximise the yield of arrests, showing no leniency towards mothers with young children, elderly or those with a serious medical condition despite numerous appeals, including remonstration from many local Thai people. The insidious operation was filmed by a live TV crew who had accompanied the crackdown team in what has been described as an attempt to alienate Thai people against asylum seekers, and to generate fear amongst those seeking refuge in their country. Maqsod Iqbal an asylum seeker who slipped the brutal crackdown force spoke to the BPCA, he said: "This morning 45 people were captured and were taken as detainees. I have been there with them from the start till the end. i have seen everything with my sinful eyes. Within those 45 people are 23 Children, 13 Women and 9 men some of them are of old age. It was unbearable for me to see the people crying out for help. As you already know Christmas month has just begun and we are targeted like this after coming here, trying to escape persecution in Pakistan. Now if the fine (court fees) are not be paid the entire group of asylum seekers will be thrown into criminal jails. So as a brother I ask you to help them in this time of need. May God bless you." Thailand has not signed the 1951 convention for asylum nor the 1967 protocol. The country's stance on asylum seekers and refugees is notably brutal and inflexible. International attention was brought to their draconian methods of tackling the growing number of Pakistani Christians seeking safety in Bangkok, after the BPCA acted as fixers for a BBC documentary on their plight. The televised programme can still be watched by clicking (here). Wilson Chowdhry, Chairman of the British Pakistani Christian Association, said: "This latest crackdown is a poor indictment on the Government of Thailand and illustrates a flawed perception of the many international conventions they are signatory too, such as conventions against torture, and conventions that protect vulnerable children and mothers and of course the UN Convention for Human Rights that encapsulates all mentioned before and in addition protection for asylum seekers and access to medical care. "The detainment of UNHCR registered asylum seekers preventing them the opportunity to see out their application process is deplorable. Sadly the same short shrift is also given to many applicants with refugee determination status, who simply need an allocated resettlement. Such a hardline approach deserves global condemnation” Wilson added