Thailand faces criticism over planned deportation of Uyghurs to China
Activists and rights groups warn that Uyghur detainees in Thailand could face torture and abuse if returned to China, after Bangkok forcibly deported 40 Uyghur men last year.
Uyghur detainees held in Thailand say they fear being sent back to China, where one of them warns he would be treated «like a slave». Rights groups say two more members of the Muslim minority now face possible return, a prospect that has renewed criticism of Bangkok's handling of the community.
Thailand forcibly deported 40 Uyghur men to China last year. The move went ahead despite pleas from the men themselves and appeals from United Nations bodies. According to reports, the United States and Canada had offered to resettle the men in third countries, but the offers did not stop the deportation. Observers have suggested that Bangkok was keen to avoid upsetting Beijing, a concern that activists say has shaped Thailand's approach to Uyghur cases and that has left the current detainees with few options beyond the courts and public pressure.
Activists warn that deporting the men would place them in grave danger. Reports cite torture and abuse against the mostly Muslim Uyghur population in China, and campaigners argue that anyone sent back faces a serious risk of ill-treatment. Human Rights Watch says two Uyghurs are currently at risk of return from Thailand. The United Nations has said the whereabouts of the 40 men returned last year remain unknown, a fact that rights advocates cite as evidence of how little is known about what happens to those sent back.
The case has also become a political test in Thailand. Commentary in the Bangkok Post frames it as a challenge for Prime Minister Anutin, whose government will be judged on whether it follows through on the deportations or yields to international pressure. Activists fear that Thailand will again bow to Chinese pressure, as it appears to have done in the earlier case, and they argue that a second deportation would confirm that Bangkok puts its relationship with Beijing ahead of its obligations to vulnerable people within its borders.
It remains unclear whether Thai authorities will proceed with the deportations, and it is also uncertain whether third-country resettlement will be approved. For the detainees, those open questions carry direct consequences. Each decision could determine whether they remain in Thailand, reach a country that has offered them shelter, or return to China, where they fear for their safety.
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