Trio in Canada after decade in detention
Bangkok Post, April 28 2025
The remaining three Uyghurs held at Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre have been transferred for resettlement in a third country, effectively ending a diplomatic saga which spanned more than a decade.
Their resettlement was confirmed by government and diplomatic sources, who told the Bangkok Post that the Uyghurs, who had been detained at the centre since 2014, have been transferred to Canada under an agreement between Thai and Canadian authorities.
The news came a few months after Thailand deported 40 Uyghurs detained at the centre to China, drawing widespread condemnation from Western governments and human rights group. The trio were not deported to China, because they held passports issued by Kyrgyzstan, sources close to the matter said.
The trio were part of a group of about 300 Uyghurs who were arrested by immigration authorities under Yingluck Shinawatra's administration near the Thai-Malaysian border on March 3, 2014.
In June 2015, 173 women and children were allowed by the National Council for Peace and Order -- who toppled the Yingluck regime in a coup -- to travel to Turkey to seek asylum.
However, in the following month, the NCPO forcibly repatriated 109 members of the group to China, at Beijing's request. Photographs of Chinese police escorting the Uyghurs -- hooded and handcuffed -- sparked international outrage, particularly from the West and human rights organisations.
A month later, on Aug 17, 2015, a bomb exploded at the Erawan Shrine, a popular site for Chinese tourists in Ratchaprasong district, killing 20 people and injuring more than 130.
Although no conclusive link was established, speculation persisted over a possible connection to the controversial deportations.
Throughout their detention at Suan Phlu, the Uyghurs endured severe hardships. Rights advocates said the group had to endure overcrowded, unhygienic conditions, and suffered chronic shortages of food, water, and medicine.
There were reports they were not provided halal meals and had inadequate access to basic healthcare, with several detainees dying in custody over the years.
The government was also accused of denying the Uyghurs access to legal representation, family contact, humanitarian groups, and international refugee organisations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), thereby effectively preventing them from seeking asylum status.
The administration of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra recently decided to repatriate 40 out of the 43 remaining Uyghur detainees in Suan Phlu to China, citing Chinese government assurances of their safety, and the absence of offers from a third country to accept them.
Chalida Tajaroensuk, chairwoman of the People's Empowerment Foundation, who has been monitoring the Uyghurs' plight since the day they were arrested, on Sunday said these last three Uyghurs have arrived safely in Canada.
She said these three Uyghurs have been verified as Kyrgyz citizens, as they used their Kyrgyz passports to illegally enter Thailand in 2014.
When they were in detention, one of the Uyghurs who had resettled in Australia contacted several embassies to urge them to accept the three Kyrgyz Uyghurs.
The Canadians responded to the request, allowing the UNHCR to process their resettlement in the country.
