CFU PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 27, 2026, 12:00 PM EST

Contact: contact@campaignforuyghurs.org    

https://campaignforuyghurs.org/ 

CFU Demands Accountability for 40 Uyghur Men Forcibly Deported by Thailand

Washington, D.C. – Campaign for Uyghurs (CFU) urges transparency and accountability on the one-year anniversary of the Thai government’s forcible deportation of 40 Uyghur men to the People’s Republic of China, a regime actively committing genocide against the Uyghur people. Given the documented patterns of arbitrary detention, torture, and enforced disappearances targeting Uyghurs in the region, CFU is deeply concerned for their safety and well-being. 

These men have been held in Thailand’s Immigration Detention Centers (IDC) since 2014, detained when fleeing China’s repression in the Uyghur region. Human rights organizations, government officials, and United Nations (UN) experts have urged Thailand to halt the deportation since the risk of repatriation was first reported in January 2025. CFU’s Executive Director, Rushan Abbas, traveled to Thailand in January 2025, where she engaged with Thai lawmakers, international diplomats, and the media to stop the Thai government’s deportation plan. In early February 2025, a Thai court also recognized a petition to free these men, ordering Thailand’s Immigration Bureau chief to appear for questioning. 

However, on February 27, 2025, under pressure from the Chinese government, these innocent men were forcibly returned to the very oppressors they had fled, despite offers from third countries to provide them refuge. This action flagrantly violated the Convention against Torture, the international principle of non-refoulement, and Thailand’s own anti-torture law. Now, five more Uyghur refugees in Thailand remain at imminent risk of being forcibly returned.

The Chinese government staged a so-called “family reunion” for only a few of the men shortly after their return, and the Thai government also conducted visits to a small number of them under strict Chinese surveillance. However, since the last Thai visit, their fate remains unknown, and no independent observers or UN experts have been granted access. 

UN experts issued a press statement today expressing grave concern about the deported Uyghur men. “Despite China’s response, the lack of reliable, comprehensive, and independently verified information surrounding these men’s fate and whereabouts is profoundly alarming,” the experts said. The statement also notes that “[a]ccording to credible reports and numerous victim testimonies, Chinese authorities systematically subject the relatives of detainees and the wider local communities to tight surveillance, monitoring their movements, communications, and social interactions.”

“One year ago today, the International justice system failed 40 Uyghur men despite overwhelming documentation and evidence of an active genocide Uyghurs were facing under the Chinese communist regime. They were forcibly returned to the very authorities they had fled after years of unjust detention, never reaching the freedom they had so desperately sought. Now, they are nowhere to be found,” noted Rushan Abbas. “The regime’s targeting of innocent people, including these men and my sister, Dr. Gulshan Abbas, should serve as a warning to the international community about the influence and threats posed by the Chinese regime. This is no longer just an Uyghur issue; it is about defending human rights, protecting sovereignty, and resisting the coercive tactics of a state that uses economic and political leverage, espionage, and transnational repression to silence dissent and intimidate governments worldwide,” added Ms. Abbas. 

CFU calls on governments and international organizations to take immediate action to demand transparency on the fate of the deported Uyghurs, provide safe haven and refugee status for those still at risk, and hold the Chinese regime accountable for its transnational repression, crimes against humanity, and genocide.