The State Department on Friday announced sanctions on several Thai officials in response to the deportation of at least 40 Uyghur men to China, amid concerns that they face potential torture, imprisonment and even death, the Associated Press reported.
Visa restrictions would be imposed on current and former Thai officials involved in or complicit with the deportations, the report quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio as saying.
“We are committed to combating China’s efforts to pressure governments into forcibly returning Uyghurs and other groups to China, where they are subjected to torture and enforced disappearances,” Rubio announced in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs reacted to the sanctions, saying China had assured Thailand that the deported individuals would not be harmed and that Thailand would follow up on their well-being.
“Thailand has always upheld a long tradition of humanitarianism, particularly in providing assistance to displaced persons from various countries for more than half a century and will continue to do so,” the statement read, according to AP.
The Uyghurs, an ethnic group from Xinjiang in China’s far west, have allegedly faced decades of systemic persecution by the Chinese government, which many countries in the West have accused of committing genocide through forced labor and cultural suppression.
In 2014, Thai had authorities detained over 300 Uyghur migrants attempting to flee China. By February 2025, only 48 Uyghurs remained in Thai custody, with plans underway to deport them back to China. Despite international calls to protect the detainees, Thai officials proceeded with the deportation.
Rubio condemned the move, saying, “Uyghurs have faced persecution, forced labor, and torture in China, and the return of these men to such conditions is unacceptable.”
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