The deportation of two more Uyghurs to China from Thailand would put their lives in grave danger, activists have said, with one of the men saying he would be “like a slave” if he was sent back.
Last year, Thai authorities forcibly deported 40 Uyghur men to China despite pleas from the men themselves and the UN.
The US and Canada had reportedly offered to resettle them, but Bangkok appeared to want to avoid upsetting Beijing. The UN has said the returnees’ whereabouts remain unknown.
Now, two more men fear becoming the latest victims of Beijing’s repressive crackdown against the largely Muslim ethnic group, condemned by the UN as a potential crime against humanity.
The girlfriend of one of the men said her boyfriend, whose name is being withheld for security reasons, told the Guardian he wanted to go “anywhere else but China”.
Human rights groups said two Uyghur men were at risk of deportation after recently being transferred to an immigration detention centre and they feared Thai authorities may once again give in to pressure from Beijing.