By , CNN February 28, 2025
The secret deportation by Thailand of dozens of Uyghurs to China that has sparked international condemnation is a diplomatic win for Beijing and a snub to the United States and the United Nations, who had long warned that the men would face torture and imprisonment if they were returned home.
The 40 men had fled China in 2014, arriving in Thailand where they were arrested and later spent more than a decade in detention and in legal limbo.
In the early hours of Thursday they were reportedly taken in trucks to an airport in Bangkok and put on a plane, with Thai officials later confirming they had deported “40 ethnic Uyghur Chinese nationals” following an official request from Beijing.
Rubio condemned the move “in the strongest possible terms,” adding that Uyghurs in China “have faced persecution, forced labor, and torture” while lacking due process rights.
China’s repression of Uyghurs and other predominately Muslim ethnic minorities in its far western region of Xinjiang has been labeled “genocide” by the US and other countries, with widespread and credible reports of arbitrary detention, mass surveillance, forced labor and restrictions on movement – allegations China vehemently denies.
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said the deportations violated legislation Thailand had signed up to prohibiting the return of people to places where they may face torture or ill-treatment.
He said his office had repeatedly urged Thai authorities to “respect their obligations under international law in relation to these individuals in need of international protection.”
“It is deeply regrettable that they have been forcibly returned,” he said.
In response, China’s Foreign Ministry on Friday blasted “some countries and international organizations” for “fabricating lies about Xinjiang and politicizing the issue.” Genocide and forced labor are the “lie of the century,” a spokesperson for the ministry told a regular news briefing in Beijing.
Chinese state news agency Xinhua on Thursday said that 40 Chinese nationals who had illegally entered Thailand were deported and repatriated to China, without mentioning their ethnicity.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra didn’t confirm any deportations.
But on Friday she admitted she had been aware all along but could not comment publicly, citing protocol and national security concerns.
She added that she had discussed the deportations with Chinese officials during a visit to China in early February, and that the officials had guaranteed the safety of the Uyghurs once they had arrived in China.
Thailand is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not recognize the concept of asylum. The Southeast Asian kingdom has a history of pushing refugees back across its borders and of deporting dissidents.
In 2015, Thailand deported over 100 Uyghurs to China, sparking international outcry. The fate and whereabouts of those returned are unknown, UN experts said last year.
‘Tragic fate’
Thailand has long been a draw for investment from Beijing, playing a part in China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a vast overseas infrastructure development program that launched more than a decade ago.
For nearly a decade before the pandemic, China was also Thailand’s largest source of foreign tourists, a crucial driver of the kingdom’s economy, which is heavily reliant on tourism.
Following the deportations Rubio called on Beijing to protect the Uyghurs’ human rights and provide “full access” to verify their well-being “on a regular basis.”
The deported men were part of a larger group of about 350 people detained after they arrived in Thailand, some of whom were minors, according to previous reports from UN experts, rights groups, and Uyghur campaigners.
Five Uyghur detainees, including a newborn and a 3-year-old, have died in detention, the reports said.
Human rights groups and campaigners say that in the years since, the men had been held “in life-threatening conditions” without access to lawyers, family members or UN representatives.
In January, as reports emerged Thailand was planning the deportations, dozens of the detained Uyghurs wrote a letter to the international community.
“We urgently appeal to all international organizations and countries concerned with human rights to intervene immediately to save us from this tragic fate before it is too late,” they wrote.
This story has been updated with additional information. CNN’s Beijing bureau contributed reporting.
