Thailand says it won’t deport Uygurs to China amid crackdown on asylum seekers
- Dozens of Uygur Muslims have been detained in Bangkok, prompting fears from activists who fear the government is preparing to send them back to China
- While a Thai official says the ‘basic rights’ of Uygurs won’t be breached, an NGO has urged for rights workers to be allowed to visit the detainees and monitor their health
Thailand has denied it is planning to deport ethnic Uygur Muslims to China, after activists voiced concerns about a fresh crackdown on asylum seekers.
Dozens of Uygurs were rounded up from across the country on Wednesday and kept in a detention centre in the capital Bangkok, prompting outcry from rights groups who fear the government is preparing to send the detainees back to China.
“This action raised concerns among the civil society network monitoring the Uygur situation that the Thai government will force the Uygurs to return to their country of origin at the request of the Chinese government,” Thailand’s Islamic council and seven local non-governmental organisations said in a statement.
The decision to transfer the refugees to Bangkok came after three Uygur men fled an immigration detention centre in central Thailand earlier this month, said Chalida Tajaroensuk, director of the People’s Empowerment Foundation, a Thai NGO that helps Uygurs in the country.
“Our sources have told us that Uygurs were brought from different detention centres across the country and are now all held together at the Suan Plu immigration detention centre,” BenarNews quoted Chalida as saying. “We fear they could be sent back under China’s pressure. So far, they are still here, as far as we know.”
Chalida also urged the government to allow human rights officials to visit the detainees and monitor their health.
She revealed that about 56 Uygurs were in a state of uncertainty after entering Thailand illegally from northwestern China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in 2014.
