Jump to content

Detention and deportation of Uyghurs by Thailand

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

From 2014 to 2025, a series of humanitarian and diplomatic incidents arose around the detention and deportation of Uyghur refugees by the Thai government, following their capture from a human smuggling camp in Songkhla Province. While 173 of the asylum seekers, mostly women and children, were sent to Turkey in 2015, over 100 others were deported back to China, and 40 were held in detention for over a decade before being sent to China in February 2025, prompting condemnation from international organizations and human rights groups.[1][2][3][4]

Background

[edit]

The Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group from Xinjiang, a region now in northwest China that is subject to a long-standing ethnic conflict. Following riots in 2009 and subsequent violent attacks, the Chinese government increasingly imposed restrictions in what has been described as persecution of the populace. Since 2009, an increasing number of Uyghurs from Xinjiang have tried to escape China via Southeast Asia, with the aim of reaching Turkey. Many have been unsuccessful, with groups captured in Cambodia, Myanmar and Malaysia respectively in 2009, 2010 and 2011 being deported back to China.[5] This was likely in response to pressure from the Chinese government, which views the refugees as a security threat, concerned that they might join terrorist groups and plan attacks back in China.[6][7]

In late 2013, Thai immigration police chief Panu Kerdlarppol met with officials in Kunming to discuss the issue of North Korean refugees. However, the Chinese officials were more concerned with illegal Uyghur migration and warned of such groups attempting to travel through Thailand. Thailand had also been dealing with an influx of Rohingya escaping Myanmar, thousands of whom were detained in 2013 in an early phase of the Rohingya refugee crisis.[8]

Initial detention and 2015 deportations

[edit]

On 13 March 2014, Thai police raided a human-smuggling camp in the jungles of Songkhla province, near the Malaysian border, and detained around 220 refugees. They initially claimed to be Turkish, but were suspected and later found to be Uyghurs attempting to enter Malaysia, where they expected to secure Turkish travel documents for onward travel to Turkey.[8][9] Earlier, 112 suspected Uyghurs had been detained in Sa Kaeo province near the Cambodian border.[6] Further arrests in Songkhla, later in March, brought the total number of detainees up to over 400.[10]

Thai officials liaised with the UNHCR as well as Turkish and Chinese consular officials to determine the proper course of action, but while Turkey signified that it would accept the refugees as its citizens,[8] Chinese officials insisted that they be sent back to China—an option warned against by rights groups, saying that they faced harsh treatment and punishment if returned.[11] In November, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu asked Thailand to send the refugees to Turkey, prompting a sharp rebuke from the Chinese foreign ministry.[12] Amid the dispute between Turkey and China, the refugees continued to be held in detention by Thailand, with women and children housed in shelters while the men and older boys were interred in facilities known as immigration detention centers (IDCs). By November, over a hundred of the women and children had escaped; some were recaptured, while some eventually reached Turkey.[13][14]

By May 2015, almost 400 Uyghurs remained in Thai custody.[14] Then in June, 173 detainees, mostly women and children, were suddenly revealed to have been sent to Turkey, arriving on a 30 June flight.[15] Shortly after, however, 109 detainees were deported to China on 8 July, drawing condemnation from Turkey, the United States, and the UNHCR. Protesters attacked the Thai consulate in Istanbul.[16][17] According to analysis by The New York Times, the actual figure may have been as high as 150, and up to 306 had initially been planned for deportation.[14]

The following month, a terrorist bombing at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok on 17 August killed 20 and injured 125. Two Uyghur suspects were arrested, prompting speculation that the attack was in retribution for the deportations. The Thai government, however, has played down the connection, and the court case has since progressed very slowly.[14]

Extended detention

[edit]

After 2015, the remaining refugees were left in a state of indefinite detention, with the Thai government apparently unwilling to commit to a course of action. Around 20 escaped in 2017,[18] but over 50 still remained in IDCs throughout the country. After another 3 escaped in 2022, the remaining refugees were moved to the Suan Plu IDC in Bangkok.[14]

Conditions at the overcrowded Suan Plu IDC were bad, and the Uyghurs were subject to worse treatment than the other detainees, without access to communication, legal counsel, or humanitarian assistance. Two detainees died in 2023 (adding to previous deaths of a newborn child and a three-year-old boy in 2014, and another man in 2018), prompting a renewed wave of international attention calling for the release of the remaining 48 detainees (43 held in Suan Plu and 5 in prison for a previous escape attempt), though the Thai government refused to take action.[14]

Among the remaining 48 Uyghurs, United Nations human rights experts asserted nearly half suffered from serious health conditions, including kidney dysfunction, diabetes, and lung and heart conditions.[1]

On 8 January 2025, the 43 detainees were asked by Thai immigration officials to sign voluntary deportation papers.[19] The detained men later made a public plea against their deportation, in a letter obtained by the Associated Press.[19] The letter claimed the Thai Government was planning to deport them to China.[19]

In January 2025, US Senator Marco Rubio pledged to press Thailand against deporting the 48 Uyghurs during his Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of State.[20][21]

2025 deportation

[edit]

At around 02:00 on the morning of 27 February 2025, a convoy of trucks with black sheets covering windows left Bangkok's Immigration Detention Center in Soi Suan Phlu.[22][23] The trucks traveled to Don Mueang International Airport, where an unscheduled China Southern Airlines flight left at 04:48 local time.[22][1] The flight landed 6 hours later in Kashgar, Xinjiang.[22]

The Chinese Embassy in Bangkok confirmed that 40 Chinese nationals who had entered Thailand illegally were deported by a chartered flight.[22]

The deportation was confirmed by the Thai government on the evening of 27 February.[23] Minister of Defense Phumtham Wechayachai commented that the Thai government had received assurances from China that the Uyghurs would be looked after, and that they were sent back in accordance with international standards.[23]

Last detainees

[edit]

On 27 April, the last three Uyghur detainees at Suan Plu IDC were transferred for resettlement in Canada. They were not deported to China as they held Kyrgyz passports.[24]

Reactions

[edit]

The 2025 deportation was condemned by human rights groups, including Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International.[23][25][26][27]

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described the deportation as "a clear violation of international human rights laws and standards".[28]

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the deportation in a statement.[29] In March 2025, Rubio announced sanctions on Thai government officials and potential restrictions on family members of those sanctioned.[30][31]

On 28 February 2025, the US and Japanese embassies in Bangkok issued security alerts following the deportation.[32][33] The alerts cited previous deportations of Uyghurs as factors in the 2015 bombing of the Erawan Shrine, which killed 20.[34]

Opposition lawmaker Kannavee Suebsang claimed Australia, the United States, and Sweden had offered to resettle the 48 Uyghurs prior to their deportation.[35] An official for the US State Department confirmed the US had offered to resettle the asylum-seekers, along with Canadian government sources confirming Canada had offered resettlement.[36] Thailand's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Russ Jalichandra, confirmed that other countries had offered resettlement, but noted that Thailand could face retaliation from China if the Uyghurs were sent to another country.[37]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Thailand deports 40 Uyghur detainees to China despite warnings from U.S. and rights groups". NBC News. 2025-02-27. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  2. ^ Sullivan, Michael (2025-02-27). "Thailand deports dozens of Uyghurs to China, activists say". NPR. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  3. ^ Gabriele Steinhauser; Austin Ramzy. "Thailand Deports Uyghur Detainees to China Over U.S. Objections". WSJ. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  4. ^ "Thailand deports dozens of Uyghurs to China". BBC. 2025-02-27. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  5. ^ Zenn, Jacob (10 September 2014). "Undocumented Uyghur Migrants Find New Route to Southeast Asia". China Brief. 14 (17). Jamestown Foundation.
  6. ^ a b "Uighur Refugees in Southeast Asia". RANE Worldview. Stratfor. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  7. ^ "China: About 300 Citizens Fighting With IS in Iraq, Syria". Voice of America. Reuters. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  8. ^ a b c วัสยศ งามขำ (28 March 2014). "3 เส้นทาง "มุสลิมอุยกูร์" จากจีนลอบเข้าไทย". Isra News Agency (in Thai). Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  9. ^ "Suspected Uighurs rescued from Thai trafficking camp". Bangkok Post. Reuters. 14 March 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  10. ^ Wong, Edward (24 March 2014). "Thais Detain More Migrants Believed to Be Ethnic Uighurs". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  11. ^ Anderlini, Jamil (3 April 2014). "China presses Thailand to return Uighur refugees". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  12. ^ "China Rebukes Turkey Over Uighur Refugees". Voice of America. Reuters. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  13. ^ Wong, Edward (18 November 2014). "Thailand Is Searching for Scores of Uighurs Who Fled China". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Elimä, Nyrola; Mauk, Ben (10 November 2024). "He Made a Daring Escape From China. Then His Real Troubles Began". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  15. ^ "Group of 173 Uyghurs Freed From Thai Detention Arrive in Turkey". Radio Free Asia. 1 July 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  16. ^ "Govt confirms deportation of 109 Uighurs to China". Bangkok Post. Reuters, DPA. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  17. ^ Doksone, Thanyarat (9 July 2015). "Thailand condemned for repatriation of 109 Uighurs to China". AP News. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  18. ^ "Uighur inmates dig their way out of Thai jail". BBC News. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  19. ^ a b c "Uyghurs detained in Thailand say they face deportation and persecution in China". AP News. 2025-01-11. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  20. ^ "'Hell on earth': Deportation looms for Uyghurs held in Thailand". www.bbc.com. 2025-01-20. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  21. ^ "Trump nominee speaks up for Uyghurs in Thailand". Bangkok Post. 2025-01-16. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  22. ^ a b c d "40 Uyghur men detained in Thailand for more than a decade have been deported to China". AP News. 2025-02-27. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  23. ^ a b c d "Thailand deports 40 Uyghurs to China". Bangkok Post. 2025-02-27. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  24. ^ Tangsathaporn, Poramet (28 April 2025). "Last three Uyghurs 'resettled'". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  25. ^ "Thailand: 'Deportation' of Uyghurs to China 'unimaginably cruel'". Amnesty International. 2025-02-27. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  26. ^ Davidson, Helen; Ratcliffe, Rebecca (2025-02-27). "Thailand deports dozens of Uyghurs to China despite torture fears". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  27. ^ "Thailand deports 48 Uighurs to China despite human rights concerns". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  28. ^ "UN Human Rights Chief deeply troubled by Thailand's deportation of Uyghurs to China". OHCHR. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  29. ^ "On Thailand's Forced Return of Uyghurs to China". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2025-02-27.
  30. ^ Martina, Michael; Brunnstrom, David (March 15, 2025). "US hits Thai officials with visa sanctions over deportation of Uyghurs to China". Reuters. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  31. ^ "Thai officials face US visa curbs over Uyghur deportations". Bangkok Post. March 15, 2025. Retrieved March 15, 2025.
  32. ^ "Japan warns citizens in Thailand of threats after Uyghur repatriation". nationthailand. 2025-02-28. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  33. ^ "US embassy issues security alert in Thailand after Uyghurs' deportation to China". Reuters. February 28, 2025. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  34. ^ "US issues security alert for Thailand". Bangkok Post. 2025-02-28. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  35. ^ Phaicharoen, Nontarat; Boonreak, Kunnawut (March 5, 2025). "Thailand had offers to take Uyghurs but deported them to China anyway". benarnews.org. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  36. ^ Wongcha-um, Panu (March 5, 2025). "Exclusive: Canada and US offered Uyghurs in Thailand asylum before deportation to China, sources say". Reuters. Retrieved March 20, 2025.
  37. ^ "Uyghurs deported to avert China 'retaliation': Thai minister". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2025-03-06.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Detention_and_deportation_of_Uyghurs_by_Thailand&oldid=1291629269"