BANGKOK — The United States and other countries made numerous offers to resettle dozens of Uyghur men in Thailand before they were deported back to China, where human rights groups fear they may be tortured and abused, the U.S. State Department said Friday.
The 40 Uyghurs, who had been in Thai custody since 2014 after fleeing Chinese state repression in the northwestern Xinjiang region, were secretly removed from a Bangkok detention center last week.
The State Department stated that it has worked with Thailand for years to prevent this kind of situation, consistently offering to resettle Uyghurs in other countries, including the United States.
Thailand’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Russ Jalichandra denied receiving any serious offers to take the men, suggesting that if a third country was truly committed to taking them, they would have negotiated with China to allow it.
The State Department criticized Thailand’s decision as a violation of its commitment to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, stating that the U.S. and other countries do not need Beijing’s permission to offer asylum to the Uyghurs.
China has imprisoned over 1 million people, including Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups, in indoctrination camps where they face torture, sterilization, and forced labor as part of an assimilation campaign.
China denies the allegations and claims that its policies aim to promote economic and social development in Xinjiang and combat radicalism.
Thai police apprehended over 200 Uyghurs in southern Thailand near the border with Malaysia in 2014 and charged them with immigration violations.
Human Rights Watch and other organizations condemned the deportations as a violation of domestic and international law, stating that the Uyghurs are at grave risk of torture and abuse in China.
The United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk called on Thailand to ensure the remaining Uyghurs are not returned to China and urged China to disclose their whereabouts and treat them in accordance with international human rights standards.
Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian denied any violations and stated that China is committed to protecting the rights and interests of its citizens.
The deported individuals have had their legal rights protected and have returned to normal life, he claimed.
— AP writer Jintamas Saksornchai contributed to this story.
Source: https://time.com/7265574/us-thailand-deportation-uyghurs-china-repression-asylum-resettlement-human-rights/
