Thailand Must Not Send Two Uyghur Men Back to China, Rights Groups Warn

Two Uyghur men who have spent more than 12 years locked up in Thailand could soon be sent back to China, where human rights groups say they would face torture, arbitrary detention and being made to disappear. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have both urged Thailand to stop any deportation and let the men find safety in another country instead.

The men, aged 26 and 35, were moved from prison to an immigration detention centre in Bangkok on 21 October 2026, after receiving a royal pardon. Their transfer has raised fears that Thailand is preparing to hand them over to China.

Thailand’s government says no decision has been made. Its security chief says China must first file a formal extradition request, and that a court — not the government — will decide what happens next. But rights groups point out that Thailand has sent Uyghurs back to China before, and that the 40 men deported last year have not been heard from since.

Who are the two men?

The two men are part of a group of more than 300 Uyghurs who were detained by Thai police on 13 March 2014, near the border with Malaysia. They had fled China, saying they were escaping persecution and discrimination in Xinjiang, the region in north-west China where most Uyghurs live.

One of the two men was only 14 years old when he was detained. He has now spent more than half his life in Thai custody.

The men later received seven-year prison sentences linked to an attempt to escape from immigration detention in January 2020. They served most of those sentences in Bangkok Central Prison before being released under a royal pardon on 21 October 2026. Instead of being freed, they were transferred to the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok.

Their names have not been made public, for their own safety. Only five Uyghurs from the original group remain in Thailand. The other three are still in prison.

In letters shared publicly last week, the two men pleaded not to be sent back to China. “Every time we are worrying from China to take back us,” one of them wrote. “We aren’t terrorist,” he added. The letters were shared by Kannavee Suebsang, a former Thai lawmaker and founder of the Peace Rights Foundation, a human rights group that represents the men.

Both men have told their lawyers that they fear for their lives if they are returned to China, and that they do not agree to be sent back, according to Amnesty International.

Why are rights groups so worried?

Amnesty International issued its warning on 4 November 2026. Its Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said the men face “a real risk of torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance” if they are returned to China.

“Thai authorities must immediately halt any plans to forcibly return these two Uyghur men to China,” she said. “Thailand must not repeat last year’s unlawful deportation of 40 Uyghurs, who were forced back to danger in China.”

Human Rights Watch issued a similar warning on the same day. Its Asia director, Elaine Pearson, urged Thailand to let the men travel to a safe third country instead of sending them to China.

Amnesty also says that since the transfer to the detention centre, Thai authorities have denied the two men access to their lawyers. The group says officials have also blocked access to the men by civil society organisations and Thailand’s own National Human Rights Commission.

The fear is based on what happened before. In February 2025, Thailand deported 40 Uyghur men to China, despite pleas from Thai lawmakers and officials at the United Nations not to do so. Since then, almost nothing is known about what happened to them.

Thai authorities visited Xinjiang twice, in February and March 2025, at China’s invitation, to check on the deported men. According to Amnesty, they were able to meet fewer than 10 of the 40, and no later updates have confirmed that all of them are alive and safe. Their whereabouts and wellbeing remain unknown.

Amnesty International has documented serious abuses against Uyghurs and other mainly Muslim ethnic groups in Xinjiang. In a landmark report in 2021, it said the abuses amounted to crimes against humanity, including imprisonment, torture and persecution. A United Nations assessment published in August 2022 reached similar findings. China denies the allegations and says its policies in Xinjiang are aimed at fighting terrorism and extremism.

What has Thailand said?

Thailand’s government has tried to calm the concerns, saying the men’s fate will be decided by a court, not by politicians.

General Chaipruak Doungprapat, the secretary-general of Thailand’s National Security Council, told reporters on 4 November that China must make a formal extradition request if it wants the two men returned. He said his agency would not decide the matter itself — unlike the case of the 40 men sent back last year.

“The process will go through the courts and the men will be able to defend themselves,” he said. “If the court rules in their favour, it’s possible for them to be sent to another country for resettlement. But if the court rules against them, they will be extradited according to the treaty.”

Chaipruak also said that the men’s lawyer had already visited them, and that Thailand’s Foreign Ministry would check the arrest warrants against them once a formal extradition request arrives from China. Human Rights Watch says Chinese diplomats demanded the men’s return during a meeting with Thai officials in August.

It is not yet clear whether Beijing has actually filed a formal extradition request. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, said on 4 November that cooperation between China and Thailand on cross-border crime, including illegal immigration, was in line with the laws of both countries and international law. She did not say whether China had sent an extradition request.

Thai politicians are divided. Sasinan Thamnithinan, a lawmaker from the opposition People’s Party, said on 3 November that Thailand is bound by both domestic and international law to make sure no one is returned to a country where they could face torture or inhumane treatment.

“Maintaining international relations is important, but it must not take precedence over human rights and the rule of law,” she said. “No one should be sent back to face danger simply because the government wants to end a problem.”

A 12-year wait: the story so far

The case of the Uyghurs in Thailand goes back more than a decade, and it has embarrassed Thai governments of every kind.

March 2014: Thai police detain more than 300 Uyghurs near the Malaysian border. The group includes men, women and children who say they fled persecution in Xinjiang.

June 2015: Thailand allows 173 women and children from the group to travel to Türkiye. But it forcibly sends at least 109 others back to China. The deportation causes an international outcry, and protesters attack the Thai embassy in Türkiye.

2015–2025: The remaining men stay locked up in Thailand for years, most of them in immigration detention and later in prison. For more than a decade, Thai governments put off a decision on what to do with them.

January 2025: The Chinese embassy in Bangkok writes to Thailand’s Foreign Ministry, asking for the “repatriation” of 45 Uyghur men still in the country, according to a document seen by Amnesty International.

February 2025: Thailand forcibly deports 40 Uyghur men to China, despite appeals from Thai lawmakers and UN officials. Their whereabouts remain unknown.

October 2026: Two of the five Uyghurs still in prison are released under a royal pardon on 21 October and moved to the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok.

November 2026: Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch warn that the two men face imminent deportation and urge Thailand to stop it.

What does the law say?

The central legal rule in this case is called non-refoulement. It is a principle of international law that forbids any country from returning a person to a place where they face a real risk of persecution, torture or other serious human rights violations. Thailand is bound by this principle, and by the Convention against Torture, which it has signed.

Thailand also has its own law on the issue. The Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act, which came into force in 2023, says in Article 13 that a person must not be deported where there are substantial grounds to believe they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, or enforced disappearance.

Rights groups say these rules leave no room for doubt. “No amount of diplomatic assurance from China can override Thailand’s obligations not to return anyone to a real risk of torture or other serious human rights violations,” Callamard said. “After more than a decade in detention, these men must be released and given the chance to rebuild their lives in safety and freedom.”

Amnesty also rejects the idea that promises from Beijing can make a deportation safe. The group opposes the use of diplomatic assurances — promises by a government that a person it receives will not be tortured — because it says such promises are unreliable and cannot override the absolute ban on torture.

One problem the men face is that Thai immigration authorities have repeatedly refused to let the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, meet them to assess whether they qualify as refugees. Their lawyers have told the authorities that the men do not consent to being sent to China, and have asked for them to be resettled in a safe third country.

What happens next?

The timing of this case matters. Thailand’s human rights record is due to be reviewed by the United Nations Human Rights Council on 9 November 2026, the day after this article is published. The Uyghur case is expected to come up during that review.

For now, the men’s future depends on whether China files a formal extradition request, and what a Thai court decides if it does. If the court rules in the men’s favour, they could be sent to another country for resettlement. If it rules against them, they will be extradited to China under the treaty between the two countries.

Human Rights Watch has called on Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to halt the deportation process and allow the men to seek protection in a safe third country.

Why this case matters

This is not just about two men. It is a test of whether Thailand will follow its own law and its international obligations — or whether diplomatic pressure from Beijing will win out.

Thailand has been here before. In 2015 it sent 109 Uyghurs back to China. In 2025 it sent 40 more. In both cases, the world protested, and then the men disappeared from public view. No one outside China has been able to confirm that the 40 deported last year are safe.

The two men now in detention have already spent 12 years behind bars in Thailand. They were children or young men when they fled China. One of them was 14 when Thai police detained him. They have asked, in their own words, not to be sent back.

What happens to them in the coming days will show whether Thailand’s promise — that a court will decide, and that the men will be able to defend themselves — means anything in practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the Uyghurs?

The Uyghurs are a Turkic, mainly Muslim ethnic group native to Xinjiang, a region in north-west China. After decades of tension with Beijing over discrimination and the suppression of their cultural identity, the Chinese government launched a severe crackdown in Xinjiang. Some Western governments have called the crackdown a genocide. China denies this.

How long have the two men been detained in Thailand?

More than 12 years. They were detained on 13 March 2014, when Thai police picked up a group of more than 300 Uyghurs near the Malaysian border. One of the men was 14 years old at the time.

Why were they moved to a detention centre in October 2026?

They were released from Bangkok Central Prison on 21 October 2026 under a royal pardon, after serving most of their seven-year sentences. Instead of being freed, they were transferred to the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Centre in Bangkok. Rights groups say the move suggests Thailand may be preparing to deport them.

What is non-refoulement?

Non-refoulement is a rule of international law that forbids a country from sending a person back to a place where they face a real risk of persecution, torture or other serious harm. Thailand is bound by this rule, and its own 2023 anti-torture law also bans deportation in such cases.

What happened to the Uyghurs Thailand deported before?

In June 2015, Thailand sent 173 women and children from the group to Türkiye, but forcibly deported at least 109 others to China. In February 2025, it deported 40 more Uyghur men, despite appeals from Thai lawmakers and the United Nations. Their whereabouts remain unknown, and Thai officials who visited Xinjiang were able to meet fewer than 10 of them.

Conclusion

Two men who fled China as teenagers have spent more than 12 years in Thai detention. Now, after a royal pardon that should have set them free, they sit in an immigration detention centre in Bangkok, waiting to learn whether they will be sent back to the country they fled.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say the answer must be no. Thailand’s own security chief says the decision will go through the courts. The United Nations is about to review Thailand’s human rights record. The world is watching.

For the two men, the stakes could not be higher. As one of them wrote in his letter: “We aren’t terrorist.” All they are asking for is a chance to live in safety, in a country that will not send them back to danger.

Sources

• Amnesty International USA: https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/thailand-halt-imminent-forcible-return-of-two-uyghur-men-to-china/
• The Hindu: https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/china-must-make-extradition-request-if-it-wants-two-uyghur-men-returned-thailand/article71665293.ece
• The Insight International: https://theinsightinternational.com/two-uyghur-men-face-deportation-from-thailand-to-china-rights-groups-warn/
• Big News Network: https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/279416320/china-faces-human-rights-criticism-as-thailand-moves-two-uyghurs-closer-to-deportation

This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal or financial advice.