Uyghur Men in Thailand Fear Deportation After Writing They Will Be Like Slaves in China
Activists warn the pair faces forced disappearance after Beijing asserts arrest warrants for the men, who served seven years in Thai prison for a 2020 escape attempt.
By Ayanda Boateng ·
Thai authorities are preparing to deport two Uyghur men to China, a move activists say will place them in grave danger. One of the men wrote to his girlfriend in July that he would be like a slave if returned to his homeland. The pair recently moved to an immigration detention center, raising fears that Bangkok will again yield to pressure from Beijing.
This potential deportation follows a mass transfer of 40 Uyghur men to China last year. Thai authorities forcibly removed those men despite pleas from the detainees and the United Nations. The US and Canada reportedly offered to resettle the group, but Bangkok appeared intent on avoiding friction with Beijing. The UN has stated that the current whereabouts of those 40 returnees remain unknown.
The two men currently facing deportation spent the last few years serving a seven-year sentence. They were convicted for offenses related to an attempted escape from immigration detention in January 2020. They were part of a larger group of more than 200 Uyghur men, women, and children caught by Thai police near the Malaysian border in 2014. Since then, women and children from that group have been released to Turkey, while men have been sent back to China in separate batches.
Elaine Pearson, the Asia director at Human Rights Watch, urged Thai officials to allow the men to travel to a safe third country. She noted that previous Thai governments kept Uyghurs in inhumane detention for years before complying with Beijing's demands. Pearson described the outcome of previous deportations as a forced disappearance.
Chaipruak Doungprapat, the chief of Thailand's national security council, told reporters that the two men have outstanding arrest warrants in China. He said three other Uyghurs still in Thai prison also face these warrants. This claim has drawn scrutiny because at least one of the men was a minor when he left China in 2014. Marzeyya Kasem, who is using an Islamic alias, questioned why China did not issue an Interpol red notice when the group was detained in 2014.
Kasem believes the current legal proceedings are designed to create a credible basis for the deportation after Thailand faced international criticism for last year's mass transfer. Her boyfriend wrote in a letter shared with a Thai rights group that he did not want to go back to China. He questioned his humanity and what he had done wrong against the state.
The two men pleaded their case to Thailand's office of the National Human Rights Commission on Wednesday. Relatives of other Uyghurs have stated that the Chinese government is paranoid about the minority group settling in safe countries in large numbers. They prefer the group to be deported rather than allowed to live together abroad.
A spokesperson for China's foreign affairs ministry said the cooperation between the two nations in combating cross-border illegal activities is consistent with international law and practice. The spokesperson specifically cited smuggling as a target of the joint effort. A spokesperson for Thailand's foreign affairs ministry declined to comment on the case.
Uyghurs are a Turkic minority primarily from the Xinjiang region in China. They have faced decades of discriminatory treatment from Chinese authorities, including the incarceration of hundreds of thousands in detention camps. Beijing has defended these policies as measures for poverty alleviation and counter-terrorism. The UN has condemned the crackdown as a potential crime against humanity.
