BANGKOK – Three Uyghur men with Kyrgyz passports who languished in Thai detention for more than a decade were resettled in Canada earlier this month, an advocacy group said Monday, avoiding the fate of dozens of Uyghurs deported from Thailand to China.
The men were among more than 300 Uyghurs who fled China in 2014, where the ethnic minority faces sustained persecution, only to be apprehended by authorities in Thailand, setting off a prolonged tug-of-war over their fate.
As recently as February, Thailand deported 40 Uyghur men to China, triggering international condemnation.
“The trio who held Kyrgyzstani passports went to Canada after the Thai new year,” Chalida Tajaroensuk, director of the People’s Empowerment Foundation, told Radio Free Asia.
“Unlike others, they were allowed to meet UNHCR officials and receive refugee status, so they were finally released,” Chalida said, referring to the U.N. refugee agency.
The foundation has advocated for the Uyghur detainees since their 2014 arrests.
