February 28, 2025: A group of about 40 Uyghurs who havebeen detained in Thailand since 2014 were deported to China on February 27. This decision by the Thai government was widely condemned.
“This violates the principle of non-refoulement for which there is a complete prohibition in cases where there is a real risk of torture, ill-treatment, or other irreparable harm upon their return,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk in a press statement issued by his office. “My Office has urged, repeatedly, the Thai authorities to respect their obligations under international law in relation to these individuals in need of international protection. It is deeply regrettable that they have been forcibly returned. It is now important for the Chinese authorities to disclose their whereabouts, and to ensure that they are treated in accordance with international human rights standards,” said Türk.
Amnesty International in its statement said “The forcible return of these men, or indeed any Uyghurs, to China would place them at risk of serious human rights violations. We urge the government of Thailand to clarify their status. Their ordeal is already chilling: they fled repression in China, only to find themselves arbitrarily detained in Thailand for more than a decade. The fact that they now may be forcibly returned to a country where Uyghur and other non-Han ethnic groups in Xinjiang have faced torture and ill-treatment, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance is unimaginably cruel.”
“Thailand has lost its credibility in the international scene over this issue. Thailand must be held accountable for this violation of human rights. The UNCHR has also failed in its mission to protect a vulnerable group exposed to great danger and TNR. The fate of those who were deported are now unclear, as they could be subjected to the worst possible punishment,” said the World Uyghur Congress.
The men deported were part of a group of about 300 Uyghurs who were arrested by the Thai authorities on 13 March 2014 after they had fled Chinese government persecution in East Turkistan.
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