“Thailand has been holding more than 40 Uyghur asylum seekers in immigration detention for a decade”, Human Rights Watch reports.
Many of us may remember reports from 2014 about how Thai immigration officials came across a group of 220 exhausted and hungry Uyghurs hiding in a Thai forest bordering Malaysia. The authorities subsequently detained Uyghurs, and many feared an immediate extradition to China. Till now, the Uyghur refugees are waiting for resettlement in a third country.
“In July 2015, Thai authorities forcibly returned 109 Uyghur men from immigration detention centers across Thailand at the request of Beijing”, Human Rights Watch writes.
“The remaining Uyghurs should be allowed to apply for asylum, as required under international human rights law. Now, ten years later, at least 43 Uyghur men remain in Suan Phlu immigration detention center in Bangkok. Immigration authorities have repeatedly refused access to the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, denying the Uyghurs’ right to recognition of their refugee status”, Human Rights Watch reports.
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