Rights group urges Malaysia not to deport Uygur migrants to China
Kualal Lumpur-based Suaram asks Malaysia's government not to deport 155 ethnic Uygurs, including 76 children, who were discovered in the country illegally by immigration officials
A Malaysian human rights group called on the government on Sunday not to forcibly deport 155 Chinese ethnic Uygurs reported to be in the country illegally, amid concerns for their fate in China.
Malaysian media reported on Friday that the Uygurs, including 76 children, were found in a pair of cramped apartments in the capital Kuala Lumpur during a raid two days earlier by immigration authorities.
The Malaysian government, which has sought closer trade ties with Beijing, came under criticism 18 months ago from international human rights groups and the UN refugee agency for sending six Uygurs back to China in an earlier case.
Malaysian rights group Suaram said there was concern that deporting the Uygurs “might put their life at risk, especially since there are 76 children involved”.
Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN’s key refugee treaty, but the government is bound by international principles against deporting “persons to places where they may face persecution,” Suaram said.
Uygurs are a Turkic-speaking and predominantly Muslim minority in China’s remote northwestern Xinjiang region. Many allege decades of political and religious repression by China.
Xinjiang tensions have soared amid a wave of violence over the past year, including deadly attacks on civilians, which China blames on “terrorists”.