The plight of 48 Uyghur detainees in Thailand has drawn international scrutiny as the group’s hunger strike protesting their possible return to China stretches into day 15 with the U.S. State Department, U.N. officials and activists voicing concern.

International pressure is mounting on Thailand – including from the new US administration – over the fate of dozens of Uyghur men held in detention for more than a decade, following reports the Thai government planned to deport the group to China.

The UN indicated Friday it was urging Thailand not to send dozens of detained Uyghurs to any country where they risk “significant” harm, after reported plans to deport them to China. Rights groups have warned that Bangkok is preparing to deport imminently a group of 48 members of China’s mostly Muslim Uyghur minority,

Thailand has no plan to deport 48 Uyghurs who have languished for more than a decade in detention, a government spokesman said on Thursday, dismissing speculation that the men were about to be sent back to China where rights groups say they would face the risk of torture.

BANGKOK : United Nations human rights experts have urged Thailand not to send 48 Uyghurs in its custody back to China, warning they are at risk of torture, ill-treatment and “irreparable harm” if returned.

On January 22, 2025, several UN experts published a statement indicating that the Government of Thailand must immediately halt the possible transfer of 48 Uyghurs

Thai authorities have denied any immediate plan to send 48 Uyghur refugees back to China after UN experts urged a stop. Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim minority in China.

BANGKOK: Thai authorities denied on Wednesday (Jan 22) there was an immediate plan to send back to China 48 Uyghurs held in the country's detention centres, after UN experts warned the group could face torture if they return.

The family was detained in Thailand in 2014 after fleeing increasing repression in their hometown in China's Xinjiang province. She and the children were allowed to leave Thailand a year later. But her husband remained in detention, along with 47 other Uyghur men. Niluper – not her real name – now fears she and her children may never see him again.

Dozens of men from the ethnic minority sought escape from repression in China a decade ago, but have been detained in Thailand ever since.

They were reportedly forced to sign voluntary deportation papers, ahead of repatriation to China where their co-ethnics suffer harsh repression in Xinjiang. Thailand is not a party to the UN ...

Thai authorities denied on Jan. 22 that there was an immediate plan to send back to China 48 Uyghurs held in the country's detention centers after UN experts warned the group could face torture if they return.