BANGKOK: China has assured Thailand that 40 Chinese Uyghurs it returned on Thursday (Feb 27) would be looked after, Thailand’s defence minister said, confirming a secretive pre-dawn deportation that the United Nations and human rights groups condemned.
The move came despite urging by UN human rights experts not to send back the Uyghurs Thailand has held in detention for a decade, warning they were at risk of torture, ill-treatment and “irreparable harm” if returned.
The Uyghurs were sent back in accordance with international standards, Phumtham Wechayachai told Reuters, in Thailand’s first confirmation of the deportation of the Uyghurs, its second in the past decade.
“It was done in accordance with Thai law and international principles. There are no problems. They will be looked after well because they are their people,” said Phumtham, who is also a deputy premier.
“They are undergoing health checks. After that, they will be sent home. Their relatives have received them,” he said, adding that the chief of Thailand’s national security council had travelled on the same plane as the detainees.
Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority numbering about 10 million in the western region of Xinjiang. Beijing denies any abuses.
The UN refugee agency said it had repeatedly sought access to the group and assurances from Thai authorities that they would not be deported.
“This is a clear violation of the principle of non-refoulement and the Royal Thai government’s obligations under international law,” said UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Ruvendrini Menikdiwela.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thailand-40-uyghurs-send-back-china-4967696
