Uyghur migrants see no release after a decade in Bangkok cells

After fleeing China’s persecution and entering Thailand 10 years ago, more than 40 Uyghurs remain incarcerated in overcrowded detention centers for illegal entry without knowing their fate, their families and rights groups said at a weekend seminar.

They are among more than 500 Uyghurs who fled East Turkistan (Xinjiang) to Southeast Asian countries, according to Thai officials and NGOs. They hoped to be resettled in Turkey via Malaysia but only about 100 made their way through the red tape and intransigence of officials.

During the exodus from late 2013 to 2014, Thai immigration authorities arrested at least 475 Uyghurs – mostly on rubber plantations in Songkhla province – and detained them in March 2014, according to official figures. 

And the remaining Uyghurs have been held as illegal immigrants – not refugees – under “poor living conditions” in detention centers, unable to speak with outsiders, said an advisor to the country’s National Human Rights Commission, Rattikul Chansuriya, who contended that the Uyghurs could be in danger if repatriated to China. 

“The concerned authorities should urgently find appropriate third countries or other destinations for Uyghur detainees,” she told the seminar in Bangkok on Saturday.

She made the same recommendation to Thailand’s civilian-led Srettha Thavisin government. 

“The concerned authorities should expedite the implementation of the regulations for the screening of aliens who cannot be returned to their country of origin due to potential danger,” she said. “This is an important mechanism to provide protection to asylum seekers, including Uyghurs.” 

Thailand’s foreign ministry had not responded to a request for comment on the Uyghurs by the time of publication.