Senator urges Prime Minister Paetongtarn to address the concerns raised by human rights activists.
A group of Uyghur people who have been held in Thailand for more than ten years claim that activists claim that the Thai government is preparing to arrest them to China, where abuse and torture are imminent.
Past head of the National Human Rights Commission, Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit, on Saturday requested that Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra give more details about whether the state has a similar strategy.
43 Uyghur people detained at the Suan Phlu immigration detention center in Bangkok wrote a public charm to end what they called an immediate threat of deportation in a letter that the Associated Press news agency had obtained.
” We may be imprisoned, and we might also reduce our life”, the letter said. We immediately ask all international organizations and countries concerned with human privileges to step up quickly to save us from this dreadful tragedy before it is too late.
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 were detained by immigration officials near the Malaysian borders in March 2014, making up the majority of the group detained in Bangkok.
In July 2015, around 170 women and children from the class were released to Turkey. About a week later, 109— generally males— were deported to China. Their movements today are mysterious. The remainder were held in Thailand’s emigration confinement. At least a few have escaped, and five have died in confinement, 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.
Thai officials have no plans to release the Uyghurs, according to a 2023 review by the National Human Rights Commission. Thailand is certainly a member to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.
The Tamils ‘ confinement is categorized under a national security issue under Thai law. They are now subject to immigration authorities ‘ control, rather than the National Security Council ( NSC ). Additionally, it forbids them from using the country’s National Screening Mechanism, which allows migrants to reside in the nation and access government services.
Immigration officers have stated that they have been making every effort to accommodate the inmates.
‘ Volunteer’ imprisonment papers
The Associated Press obtained exclusive access to the Associated Press ‘ recordings and chat records that show that Thai immigration officials requested the detainees sign volunteer deportation papers on January 8.
Similar papers were presented to the Tamils deported to China in 2015, which caused panic in the prisoners. The prisoners turned down the signal.
Three people told the AP that there had been current debate within the state about deporting the Tamils to China, including a Thai MP and two people in contact with Thai authorities, even though they had not yet seen or heard of any formal instructions to do so.
Two of the people claimed that because this year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Thailand and China, Thai officials who are pushing for arrests are now choosing to do so. Additionally, it is believed that Washington may experience less backlash once the new administration led by Donald Trump assumes office later this month.
The AP requested a comment from the Thai and Chinese unusual ministers, but they did not respond right away.
Beijing says the Uyghurs are terrorists, but has not presented information. The males are stupid, according to Uyghur activists and human rights organizations, and they have expressed concern about their potential imprisonment, fearing persecution, prison, and possibly death in China.
The AP received a statement from two persons with strong knowledge of the situation who claimed that all of the Uyghurs detained in Thailand had submitted asylum applications to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which the AP verified.
The Thai government has prohibited visiting the Uyghurs to this day, but the UN bureau acknowledged receipt of the software, the people said.
However, a non-governmental organization reported in a document from May of last year that the UN agency turned down illegal requests from the Thai government to assist the 48 Uyghur prisoners, partly out of concern that China would be offended.
A request for comment was not instantly addressed by the UNHCR.