Thailand - February 2025

On 27 February, Thai authorities deported at least 40 Uyghur detainees to China after having detained them for over a decade. The decision has been widely condemned by rights experts and the United Nations, citing concern that those forcibly returned face a high risk of torture, prolonged detention and ill-treatment by the Chinese government. The 40 Uyghurs were among a group of 300 Uyghurs apprehended by Thai authorities for illegal entry in 2014, after fleeing persecution and discrimination in China’s Xinjiang region. Many of those detained in 2014 were subsequently deported in 2015. The UNHCHR stated that it had repeatedly requested access to the detainees in Thailand and had received assurances that they would not be forcibly returned. Conversely, the Thai government maintains that the deportations were carried out in accordance with international standards and that Chinese authorities had assured them individuals would be properly treated.

In February, the National Anti-Corruption Commission announced plans to indict 44 former Member of Parliaments (MPs) from the now-dissolved Move Forward Party (MFP) for sponsoring a bill in parliament to reform Thailand’s lese majesty law. Among them, 25 are now part of MFP’s successor, the People’s Party. If found guilty, they could face a lifetime ban from politics. The indictment comes after the Constitutional Court dissolved MFP in August 2024. The accused MPs maintain that their support for amending the lese majesty was legal, emphasizing that lawmakers have the authority to propose new laws. The commission will now question the 44 MPS before referring the case to the Supreme Court or public prosecutors.

Sources: Human Rights Watch, The diplomat, Bangkok Post, Thai PBS, International IDEA