Uyghurs in Cambodia face possible imminent deportation to China

For immediate release
December 18, 2009, 2:15 pm EST
Contact: Uyghur American Association +1 (202) 349 1496

Update to UNPO article (below, taken from http://www.unpo.org/content/view/10506/81/):

The Uyghur American Association (UAA) has learned that 20 of the Uyghurs who sought refuge in Cambodia, out of an original group of 22, are being held at a detention center in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, and have been told that they are facing imminent deportation to China. The 20 Uyghurs are being held in handcuffs and leg shackles, and were not given any food to eat on Friday (December 18). All 22 Uyghurs in the original group were under the protection of the UNHCR when they were taken into custody, and were in the process of applying for refugee status. UAA is extremely concerned about the possibility of the imminent deportation of the 20 Uyghurs currently being held in detention, particularly in light of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping’s upcoming visit to Cambodia beginning this Sunday (December 20).

For more info on the Uyghurs in Cambodia, please see UAA’s recent press release here.

UNPO is deeply concerned for the welfare of 20 Uyghurs as news emerges that they will be returned to China in the early hours of Saturday morning ahead of a visit to Phonm Penh by Chinese Vice-President, Xi Jinping.

Below is an article published by UNPO:

Twenty-two Uyghurs arrived in Cambodia in recent weeks and have claimed asylum on the basis that they face harsh treatment in China following accusations of an involvement in violent protests on July 5th earlier this year (2009).The charges against them remain unknown.

The Chinese authorities have used the unrest as a smokescreen to increase the use of oppressive policies against the Uyghurs and unwarrantedly label them as criminals. Thousands of Uyghurs have been detained, regardless of their involvement in the demonstrations and ensuing turbulence and the human rights of imprisoned Uyghurs are harshly violated.

Over the past few months, news has surfaced of death sentences being imposed by Chinese authorities on at least 20 of the Uyghurs in custody, 9 of whom were executed in November 2009 to international condemnation (For example European Parliament Resolution Dated 26 November 2009) [UAA note: eight Uyghurs and one Han Chinese man were reportedly executed in November 2009]. The trials have been shrouded in secrecy and have been carried out in a hasty fashion. Uyghurs were denied their right to a lawyer and no independent observers were permitted to the trials.

Sending any asylum seeker back to China could very well lead to the detention, trial and potentially the execution of the people involved. This story is reminiscent of previous instances of extradition where even non-Chinese nationals face unfair trials and long prison sentences when forcibly returned to China. Huseyin Celil, an ethnic Uyghur who once fled China andgained Canadian citizenship, was arrested in Uzbekistan in April 2006. He was extradited to China against the objections of the Canadian government and sentenced to life in prison.

Since China has shown utter disregard to its constitutional and international obligations in their legal processes against the Uyghurs, the possible trial of any of the 22 asylum seekers ought to be carried out elsewhere. If the Uyghurs’ refugee status had been confirmed, Cambodia would be bound not to deport them under the 1951 convention to which it is a party and the jus cogens principle of non-refoulement.

The status of these individuals has represented a diplomatic challenge for Cambodia this week as China – Cambodia’s biggest investor- is able to exert economic pressure on foreign relations. UNPO believes that the economic ties between Cambodia and China should not interfere with the asylum seeking process of the 22 Uyghurs in any way. Determining the fate of individuals on the basis of unwarranted economic threats goes against the individual rights of the asylum seekers involved.

UNPO calls on Cambodia to immediately refuse requests for extradition, halt this forcible return and reconsider the decision to grant asylum to Uyghurs who face imminent danger in China.