Fate of 48 Uyghurs detained in Thailand uncertain as Bangkok denies plan to deport after UN warning

Thai authorities denied Wednesday there was an immediate plan to send back to China 48 Uyghurs held in the country’s detention centres, after UN experts warned the group could face torture if they return.

The Uyghurs fled China – which has been accused of grave human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region against Uyghurs – more than a decade ago and live in constant fear of being sent back.

Rights groups have said the Thai government plans to return them imminently, and on Tuesday United Nations experts urged authorities to “to immediately halt” the possible transfer.

Thai authorities have repeatedly denied such a plan.

“The decision will be made by the national security council, so far there is no order (to send them back),” a senior official from the immigration department, who declined to be named, told AFP on Wednesday.

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An official from the national security council also told AFP “there was no order”.

That followed remarks on Monday by national police chief Kitrat Phanphet who said “Thai police and the immigration department have not received any reports about the deportation”.

Asked about the detained Uyghurs on Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry said it was “not aware of the specific situation”.

“We resolutely crack down on any form of illegal migration and oppose any indulgence of or even support for illegal migrant behaviour,” ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

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Decade in detention

The group of 48 Uyghurs, arrested in 2013 and 2014, are being held in immigration centres around Thailand.

UN experts say they were detained after crossing the Thai border to seek protection, and they have allegedly been held in de facto incommunicado detention for more than a decade, with no access to lawyers or family members.

Urging Thailand to help them access asylum procedures and humanitarian assistance, the experts said: “It is our view that these persons should not be returned to China… We are concerned they are at risk of suffering irreparable harm.”

Human Rights Watch said last week that Thai immigration officials had asked the Uyghurs to complete new paperwork and had photographed them, steps the group believes are in preparation for their forcible transfer.

The rights group says the Uyghurs are on hunger strike, although Thai authorities have denied this.

The United States has branded China’s treatment of the mostly Muslim minority a “genocide”.

A damning UN report released in 2022 detailed violations including torture and forced labour and “large-scale” arbitrary detention in what Beijing calls vocational training centres.

Beijing denies allegations of abuse and insists its actions in Xinjiang have helped to combat extremism.

Many Uyghurs have fled China over the years, with some travelling through Myanmar to Thailand, but dozens have ended up stuck in detention there – the apparent victims of what observers say is the kingdom’s desire to avoid angering either Beijing or Washington.

The UN experts, who were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, said 23 of the 48 Uyghurs suffer from serious health conditions.