Responding to reports that two Uyghur men recently moved to an Immigration Detention Centre in Thailand face imminent forcible deportation to China, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:

“Thai authorities must immediately halt any plans to forcibly return these two Uyghur men to China, where they face a real risk of torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance. Thailand must not repeat last year’s unlawful deportation of 40 Uyghurs, who were forced back to danger in China.

“These two men fled persecution only to spend more than a decade detained in Thailand. Amnesty International has documented crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Returning them would expose them to the abuses they sought to escape.

“Both men have previously made clear to their legal representatives that they fear for their lives if returned to China and do not consent to being sent back.…