Rubio called on Chinese authorities to ‘provide full access to verify the well-being of the returned Uyghurs on a regular basis.’
WASHINGTON—Thailand’s deportation of dozens of Uyghurs to China has stirred alarm in Washington, with the State Department and lawmakers raising concerns that the Uyghurs face possible persecution and torture.
The group of 40 Uyghurs who had been detained in Bangkok for more than a decade were sent back to their home country on Feb. 27.
The State Department on the same day condemned Thailand’s decision.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms Thailand’s forced return of at least 40 Uyghurs to China, where they lack due process rights and where Uyghurs have faced persecution, forced labor, and torture,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“China, under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party, has committed genocide and crimes against humanity targeting predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang.”
Rubio said the United States called on the Chinese authorities to “provide full access to verify the well-being of the returned Uyghurs on a regular basis.”
“The Thai Government must insist and fully verify continuously that Chinese authorities protect the Uyghurs’ human rights,” he said.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Thursday said the deportation is “a clear violation of international human rights laws and standards.”
“My office has urged, repeatedly, the Thai authorities to respect their obligations under international law in relation to these individuals in need of international protection,” he said. “It is deeply regrettable that they have been forcibly returned.”
He urged Chinese authorities to disclose their whereabouts.
The UK said it “disagrees in the strongest terms” with Thailand’s decision, while the European Union said it “deeply regrets” the deportations.
After Wednesday midnight, trucks with windows covered left Bangkok’s immigration center to the airport. The Chinese Embassy said the Uyghur men were sent to Xinjiang on a chartered flight.
In a letter in January, written in Uyghur language, the detained Uyghurs appealed to the international community for help.
By Eva Fu and Dorothy Li
