Thailand said on Wednesday that it was not planning to immediately repatriate a group of Uyghurs who fled China more than 10 years ago. UN experts had warned that they could face torture on their return.

The 48 Uyghurs have been held in immigration centers since their arrest in 2013 and 2014 after they crossed the Thai border to seek protection from what they and rights groups allege are grave human rights abuses in China's Xinjiang region.

The UN experts said 23 of the Uyghurs suffer from serious health conditions. Human Rights Watch said last week they were on hunger strike amid fears of their imminent transfer — something Thai authorities have denied. 

No immediate plan to send Uyghurs to China

"The decision will be made by the national security council. So far, there is no order [to send them back]," a senior official from the immigration department, who declined to be named, told the AFP news agency on Wednesday.

This follows remarks by Thai Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai last week, who said there was no immediate plan to deport the Uyghurs to China. 

National police chief Kittirat Panpetch said on Monday there had been no government order on their deportation.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it was "not aware of the specific situation" regarding the Uyghur detainees.  

Uyghurs 'at risk of torture' in China

Human Rights Watch said last week that Thai immigration officials had asked the Uyghurs to complete new paperwork and taken photographs of them, leading them to believe that their repatriation was imminent. 

Other rights groups have also warned that the group is facing deportation in the near future.

The UN experts, who were appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, warned the Thai government that the Uyghurs are at risk of torture, ill-treatment and "irreparable harm" if returned.

The US has described China's treatment of the mostly Muslim minority as a "genocide," while a UN report released in 2022 noted many instances of abuse, including torture and forced labor and arbitrary detention in what Beijing calls vocational training centers.

Beijing denies all allegations of abuse, saying its actions in Xinjiang are aimed at combating extremism.

Thailand deported more than 100 Uyghurs to China in July 2015, sparking international condemnation. Their fate remains unknown.

tj/sms (AFP, Reuters)