China’s foreign ministry yesterday defended the repatriation of 20 Uighurs who had fled to Cambodia, saying the move was in line with immigration law and usual practice.
The ethnic Uighurs sought asylum in Cambodia following deadly ethnic riots this summer in China’s far western region of Xinjiang.
China claims they are suspected criminals.
They were deported back to China on Saturday despite protests from the US and the UN. There are fears the Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic minority, may be mistreated in China.
“In line with immigration law, Cambodia has in recent days deported 20 Chinese citizens who illegally entered their country,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu (姜瑜) said in a faxed statement. “The Chinese side received the above-mentioned people according to usual practice.”
Jiang said China is strongly opposed to and cracks down on illegal immigration and would like to see the international community work together to fight these crimes.
She did not say where the Uighurs were or whether they had been charged with any crime upon their return to China.
The US State Department said Sunday it was “deeply disturbed” by the move, which may have violated Cambodia’s international obligations to asylum-seekers.
The US also said it was concerned about the welfare of the Uighurs.
US State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said the incident would affect Cambodia’s relationship with the US and its international standing.
The ethnic rioting in July between Uighurs and the majority Han Chinese was China’s worst communal violence in decades.
Uighur groups say Uighurs have been rounded up in mass detentions since the violence.
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