Thailand repatriates 40 Uyghur Muslims to China

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Thailand's government on Thursday repatriated dozens of Uyghur Muslims to China from a Bangkok detention center, a move confirmed by Beijing.

The country's national police commissioner, Pol. Gen. Kitrat Phanphet declined to comment on the reports, insisting it is a "security matter," local broadcaster Thai PBS said.

Kitrat said "more time is needed" before he can provide details.

The development comes weeks after Thailand police said they did not have any plans to deport 48 Uyghur ethnic community members back to China.

Kannavee Suebsang, the sole lawmaker of the opposition Fair Party, posted on Facebook images of six vans, believed to be police vehicles, leaving a Bangkok immigration center at about 2 a.m. local time on Thursday morning (1900GMT Wednesday).

Windows and logos of the vans, believed to have been carrying Uyghurs detained in Thailand since 2014, were covered with black tape.

When the vans left the building, police vehicles blocked the road, clearly to prevent anyone from following,” he wrote in his post.

He also claimed that a China Southern Airlines aircraft departed for China at 4 a.m. local time (2100GMT) from Bangkok airport, just two hours after police vans left the detention center.

The aircraft, according to Kannavee, had flown to Bangkok from China’s northwestern Xinjiang region, home to the Uyghurs.

He called on the government to disclose whether it has "secretly transferred 48 Uyghurs” back to China against their will.

Confirming the deportation, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing that “40 Chinese nationals” who had been involved in illegal immigration were repatriated from Thailand to China on Thursday.

The repatriation, he claimed, was carried out in accordance with the laws of both China and Thailand, as well as international practices.

“It is part of the bilateral cooperation between the two countries to combat human trafficking and other cross-border criminal activities, and the legal rights of the individuals involved are fully protected,” the spokesman added.

The detainees have reportedly been detained under “inhumane” and "degrading" conditions in Thailand since 2014 after fleeing Xinjiang.

Rights groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), previously urged Thailand not to repatriate the Uyghurs forcibly as they face a high likelihood of severe human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and torture, if returned to China.

In a letter last month, the HRW called on the Thai government to grant the Uyghurs access to the refugee status determination processes.

In January, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had pledged to press Bangkok not to deport the Uyghurs.

Xinjiang is home to more than 10 million Uyghurs. The Turkic Muslim group, which makes up around 45% of the region’s population, has long accused China of cultural, religious, and economic discrimination, while Beijing denies the charge.