Thailand delegation headed to China to inspect returned Uyghurs

BANGKOK - Cabinet ministers from Thailand will head to Chinas Xinjiang region on Tuesday to inspect Uighurs deported last month, an official said, ahead of a three-day visit in which Bangkok says only five of the 40 sent back will be made available.

Thailand sent back the 40 Uighurs in a secretive pre-dawn deportation on February 27, defying calls from United Nations human rights experts who said they were at risk of torture, ill-treatment and irreparable harm if returned.

The move drew a sharp rebuke from western countries, including the United States, which last week hit unnamed Thai officials with visa sanctions over the deportation. The European parliament also condemned Thailand, calling on the European Union to use free trade negotiations as leverage to prevent a repeat.

Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uighurs, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority numbering about 10 million in the Xinjiang region. Beijing denies any abuse and has accused western countries of interference and of peddling lies.

Thai Defence Minister Phumtham Wechachai, Justice Minister Taweee Sodswong, senior military officials and nine members of the Thai media will travel to Xinjiang, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said.

The defence ministers delegation will receive a summary briefing by a representative from the Xinjiang autonomous region, said Jirayu, adding they would later visit Uighurs.

Thailand has repeatedly said it had received assurances from China that the Uighurs would be looked after.

NO HIDDEN AGENDA

Phumtham, who is also deputy prime minister, has said Thailand expected to meet only five of the 40 Uighurs returned and one from a previous group sent back a decade ago.

They were all from a group of 300 Uighurs who fled China and were arrested in 2014 in Thailand. Some were sent back to China, others to Turkey and the rest kept