Thai delegation visits Uyghurs, seeking to quell fears of mistreatment in China

19/3/2025 19:02

A delegation of Thai officials and media arrived in China's northwestern Xinjiang region on Wednesday, seeking to calm worries about mistreatment of a group of 40 Uyghurs who were deported from Thailand last month.



The government sent the delegation on a mission to reassure the public, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters in Bangkok.



Thailand sent back the group of Uyghurs in a secretive pre-dawn operation that drew a sharp rebuke from Western countries. The United States last week hit unnamed Thai officials with visa sanctions over the deportation.



Rights groups accuse Beijing of widespread abuses of Uyghurs, 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.



The Thai government, which said it deported the Uyghurs because they had been in detention for a decade, has repeatedly said that it has received reassurance from China over Uyghur safety.