Bangkok is set to deport two more Uyghur men to China, a move that activists say will place the men’s lives in grave danger. The Thai government’s decision comes amid growing concern that it is yielding to pressure from Beijing, despite documented reports of torture and other human‑rights abuses against the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority in Xinjiang.
Last year, Thai authorities forcibly repatriated 40 Uyghur men to China after the men themselves and the United Nations had urged the country to refuse the return. The deportations were carried out despite the men’s pleas that they would face persecution upon arrival.
“If I am sent back, I will be like a slave,” one of the men told reporters, warning that the conditions he would face in China would be intolerable.
The United States and Canada had reportedly offered to resettle the men, but Bangkok appears reluctant to upset Beijing. The United Nations has said that the returnees’ whereabouts remain unknown, adding uncertainty to the situation.
The Uyghur community has long been the focus of international scrutiny over China’s treatment of the group, with allegations of mass detentions, forced labour and other abuses. Thailand’s role as a transit country has made it a focal point for the debate over the fate of Uyghur refugees seeking safety outside China.
<small>Source: The Guardian — read the original story there.</small>
