Recent reports indicate that Thailand has forcibly repatriated over 40 ethnic Muslim Uyghurs who had been in detention for over a decade. This action has drawn criticism from U.N. officials, rights groups, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who urged against the deportation. Thai authorities initially claimed there were no plans to return them. The Uyghurs were previously part of a larger group that fled China, and past repatriations have led to concerns for their safety, with many believed to have faced severe consequences upon return.
Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, said it was clear that 'Thai officials involved in this forced return, using blacked out trucks and a barrage of lying denials, have the blood of these Uyghur men on their hands.'
The detainees were part of a group of some 300 Uyghurs who fled China and were arrested in Thailand in 2014. Thailand deported more than 100 of them to China in 2015, drawing condemnation from the international community. 'None of them,' said Robertson, 'were ever heard from again.'
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