AP, BANGKOK
A group of Uyghur men who were detained in Thailand more than one decade ago said that the Thai government is preparing to deport them to China, alarming activists and family members who say the men are at risk of abuse and torture if they are sent back.
Forty-three Uyghur men held in Bangkok made a public appeal to halt what they called an imminent threat of deportation.
“We could be imprisoned and we might even lose our lives,” the letter said. “We urgently appeal to all international organizations and countries concerned with human rights to intervene immediately to save us from this tragic fate before it is too late.”
Protesters hold posters and pictures of victims during a protest against China’s crackdown on Uyghurs in a photograph taken on Nov. 30, 2022.
Photo: AP
More than 300 Uyghurs fleeing China were detained in 2014 by Thai authorities near the Malaysian border. Thailand in 2015 deported 109 detainees to China against their will, prompting international outcry. Another group of 173 Uyghurs, mostly women and children, were sent to Turkey, leaving 53 Uyghurs stuck in Thai immigration detention and seeking asylum. Since then, five have died in detention, including two children.
Advocates and relatives describe harsh conditions in immigration detention. They said the men are fed poorly, kept in overcrowded concrete cells with few toilets, denied sanitary goods such as toothbrushes or razors, and are forbidden contact with relatives, lawyers and international organizations.
Recordings and chat records showed that on Wednesday, the Uyghur detainees were asked to sign voluntary deportation papers by Thai immigration officials.
The move panicked detainees, as similar documents were presented to the Uyghurs deported to China in 2015. The detainees refused to sign.
Three people, including a Thai lawmaker and two others in touch with Thai authorities said there have been recent discussions within the government about deporting the Uyghurs to China, although the people had not yet seen or heard of any formal directive to do so.
Two of the people said Thai officials pushing for the deportations are choosing to do so now, because this year is the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and China, and due to the perception that backlash from Washington would be muted as the US prepares for a presidential transition in less than two weeks.
“There’s no evidence that the 43 Uyghurs have committed any crime,” Uyghur Human Rights Project Associate Director for Research and Advocacy Peter Irwin said. “The group has a clear right not to be deported and they’re acting within international law by fleeing China.”
Two people with direct knowledge of the matter said that all of the Uyghurs detained in Thailand submitted asylum applications to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The agency acknowledged receipt of the applications, but has been barred from visiting the Uyghurs by the Thai government.
“We are all in the same situation — constant worry and fear,” said Bilal Ablet, whose elder brother is detained in Thailand. “World governments all know about this, but I think they’re pretending not to see or hear anything, because they’re afraid of Chinese pressure.”
Ablet added that Thai officials told his brother no other government was willing to accept the Uyghurs, although an April 2023 letter authored by the chairwoman of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand said there are “countries that are ready to take these detainees to settle down.”
Abdullah Muhammad, a Uyghur living in Turkey, said his father Muhammad Ahun is one of the men detained in Thailand, and that although his father crossed into Thailand illegally, he was innocent of any other crime, and had already paid fines and spent more than a decade in detention.
“I don’t understand what this is for. Why?” Muhammad said. “We have nothing to do with terrorism and we have not committed any terrorism.”
