Prominent Myanmar migrant rights leader Suraj Giri, also known as Veera Saengthong, turned himself in to police in Thailand’s Kanchanaburi Province on Friday following a court-issued arrest warrant over allegations that he unlawfully obtained a Thai birth certificate using falsified documentation.
According to Thai media reports, Giri—who heads the migrant advocacy organization Bright Future—presented himself at a police station in Kanchanaburi, where he is currently being held for questioning.
The Kanchanaburi Provincial Court approved the arrest warrant on Nov. 9, three days after a local district registration office revoked Giri’s Thai birth certificate on Nov. 6, alleging that he “presented false evidence to unlawfully obtain an entry in a household registration or other civil registration document”.
Prior to the revocation, Thai media reported that Giri held a 10-year identity card issued by Thailand’s Ministry of Interior to eligible non-Thai residents, including members of recognized ethnic minority groups, long-settled border communities, and stateless individuals.
The legal action arrives directly on the heels of Giri’s high-profile activism opposing Myanmar military regime operations inside Thailand.
Giri has joined a coalition of migrant rights organizations campaigning against rules requiring Myanmar workers to obtain Certificates of Identity (CI) from regime-run centers—arguing that the scheme imposes exorbitant fees and punitive taxes, harvests workers’ sensitive personal data, and enables Naypyidaw to track individuals eligible for mandatory service under Myanmar’s military conscription law.
On Nov.1, Giri led a protest outside the United Nations headquarters in Bangkok demanding the closure of five Myanmar regime-operated CI centers across Thailand, during which he was physically assaulted.
Speaking to DVB on Nov. 2 after the assault, Giri vowed to press forward with his advocacy for Myanmar migrant workers “through peaceful and lawful means” despite escalating intimidation and legal hurdles.
