Bangkok – Thailand has deported 40 Uyghur men to China in a clandestine operation, ignoring international pleas and raising grave concerns about their fate. The men, held in detention in Bangkok for a decade, were among a larger group of Uyghurs who fled persecution in China’s Xinjiang region in 2014, seeking asylum in Thailand. Rights groups warn they now face torture, disappearance, or indefinite imprisonment.
The deportation unfolded overnight, with the men removed from a detention facility in covered trucks under tight security. Hours later, a China Southern Airlines flight touched down in Xinjiang, the epicenter of China’s crackdown on the Uyghur Muslim minority. Details of the operation remain shrouded in secrecy, and Thai officials have offered no comment, drawing sharp criticism from human rights advocates.
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“This is a blatant violation of international law,” said a spokesperson for a prominent rights organization, echoing widespread outrage. Under the principle of non-refoulement, countries are barred from returning individuals to places where they risk persecution or severe harm—a standard Thailand appears to have breached. The move has reignited scrutiny of Thailand’s record on asylum seekers, particularly its history of bowing to pressure from powerful neighbors like China.
The deported men had languished in limbo for years, their pleas for refuge unanswered. Activists had long urged Thailand to resist China’s demands, citing Beijing’s documented abuses against Uyghurs, including mass internment and forced labor. Instead, the quiet handover has left families and supporters in despair, with no information on the men’s whereabouts.
The international community now watches anxiously, as Thailand’s silence deepens the controversy surrounding this shadowy expulsion.
