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Despite international pleas that 40 Uyghurs could be tortured if sent back to China, Thai authorities whisked them away under the cover of darkness and deported them to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

The Uyghur men had been held at the Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok since 2014 after trying to escape from Beijing’s persecution via Thailand. 

Thai national Police Chief Kitrat Penphet confirmed that they were returned to their home country on Feb. 27, after photos circulated showing immigration trucks with their windows blackened out heading to Don Mueang International Airport in the middle of the night. A chartered China Southern Airlines flight then took off and was tracked arriving in Kashgar, the capital of XUAR. 

Thailand’s government said it only agreed to deport the 40 Uyghurs after receiving assurances from Beijing that they would be unharmed. 

For their part, Chinese authorities said “illegal immigrants” had been returned but did not identify them as Uyghurs.

Uyghurs in XUAR have been subjected to widespread human rights abuses, including detention in massive concentration camps, rights activists claim. Beijing denies those allegations.