After receiving reassurance from China that they would be looked after, Thailand on Thursday deported 40 Uyghur prisoners who had been in the region for almost 11 years, according to Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.
According to Mr. Phumtham, they were returned in accordance with international standards, which was the first official confirmation from the state following a moment of extreme debate.
Human rights activists have criticized the action in a furious manner.
The Thai government “has suddenly done the unthinkable”, said Phil Robertson, the Bangkok-based chairman of Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates.
He urged Thailand to retire from its position on the UN Human Rights Council” to show accountability for its outrageous and unethical behavior.”
Human Rights Watch criticized Thai government for deporting the men despite making common assurances that they would not do so in the wake of earlier allegations that they had.
” Thailand’s exchange of Uyghur inmates to China constitutes a blatant violation of Thailand’s commitments under domestic and international rules”, said Elaine Pearson, Asia chairman of Human Rights Watch. ” The people now face a higher chance of torture, enforced departure, and long-term prison in China”.
A strange limousine and a later trip that was said to have landed in China set off the episode.
Around 2 a.m., Fair Party MP Kannavee Suebsaeng posted pictures of confinement trailers leaving the immigration detention center in Bangkok’s Soi Suan Phlu.
A policeman escort prevented people from following or tracking their target as they entered the road.
Late on Wednesday evening, China Southern Airlines ‘ trip CZ5245 from Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region made its way to Don Mueang Airport. At 4.48am Thursday the same planes, then journey CZ5246, took off with its target marked as “unspecified” on Flightradar24. Six hours later, it was revealed that it had landed at Kashgar.
The standard Xinhua news agency in China reported on Thursday evening that 40 Chinese nationals who had been “bewitched by legal organizations” had been repatriated from Thailand.
A Chinese Foreign Ministry director, asked about the reported relocation, said “certain political causes” had been” spreading lies” concerning Xinjiang in order to destroy order.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra stated in a statement to the parliament that she had not examined the specifics of the situation, noting that any nation that deals with this kind of situation must base its actions on laws, global standards, and human rights.
Ms. Paetongtarn made a five-day trip to China earlier this month. It is unknown if Thai and Chinese leaders have ever discussed the Uyghur concern.
” National protection”
In response to the studies, National Police Chief Kittharath Punpetch opted not to comment on national security.
” There can’t be an instant response in particular because it concerns safety. Information may be made available after a certain time, he said before entering a policeman commission meeting. The place was instructed to avoid the writers.
The Uyghurs were removed from the detention center on Soi Suan Phlu on Wednesday night, according to a resource at the immigration bureau, but the detention officers there were unaware of their destination.
Sending the Tamils again would have serious implications for Thailand, warned Women’s Party MP Rangsiman Rome, chairman of the House committee on national security, border affairs, regional approach and reform.
” I think it will have a major impact and be a key issue, not just for Thailand, because it affects international respect, particularly Thailand’s role in human right”, he wrote on X.
He added that Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, has previously expressed concern for the Uyghurs, and that their imprisonment had put a strain on the US-Thailand partnership.
People are prohibited from returning to nations where they may experience torture, forced departure, or persecution under international law.
Right groups accuse Beijing of common abuses of the Uyghurs, a largely Muslim ethnic minority that makes up around 10 million people in the northern region of Xinjiang. Beijing denies any crimes. ( Story continues below )
Uyghur prisoners have been staying at the immigration detention center in Bangkok for almost 11 decades.
Fleeing persecution
In January, it was reported that the Uyghur people had a belief that the Thai authorities was preparing to arrest them to China.
Thailand joined Uyghur refugees fleeing China’s growing persecution and seeking entry to Turkey, which has previously supported Uyghur asylum seekers, a common route ten years ago. Around 350 people who were detained by immigration authorities near the Malaysian borders in March 2014 comprise the majority of the party detained in Bangkok.
In July 2015, around 170 women and children from the party were released to Turkey. About a week later, 109— generally guys— were deported to China. Their movements today are mysterious. The remainder were held in Thailand’s immigration confinement. At least a few have escaped, and five have died in detention, including two babies.
Five of the asylum applicants are serving jail sentences related to a 2020 avoid test, while the remaining 43 are being held without demand in the Suan Phlu detention center, amid sweltering, foul-smelling, cramped problems. They are barred from communicating with their families, attorneys, or even other inmates.
The Uyghurs ‘ confinement is categorized as a matter of national security under Thai law. Because of this, they are now under the control of the National Security Council ( NSC), not immigration authorities. Additionally, it forbids them from using the country’s National Screening Mechanism, which allows migrants to reside in the nation and access government service.
Immigration officers have stated that they have been making every effort to accommodate the prisoners.
Last month, Pol Gen Kittharath defended the treatment of the Uyghurs, arguing that states would have been made in media reports decades ago if their treatment had been weak.
Thailand has face international criticism for its choice, said Rushan Abbas, senior chairman of the Campaign for Uyghurs.
” These arrests expose the unpleasant truth that, for some governments, animal life are negotiable and are traded apart for political or economic pursuits”, she said.