The second ethnic Uighur refugee to pass away in Thai captivity this year was an ethnic Uighur man who was held by Thailand in 2014 after leaving China.
According to a statement released by the World Uyghur Congress and the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) on April 24, Mattohti Mattursun passed away on April 21 at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok due to probable liver failure. He was in his forties.
In March 2014, 350 Uighurs, including children, were imprisoned as they traveled toward Malaysia in the hope of finding sanctuary in a different nation. One of them was Mattohti, also known as Muhammad Tursun. The next year, at least 170 of them were taken to Turkey, and more than 100 were returned to China, which the UN has accused of committing potential “crimes against humanity” by interning large numbers of Uighurs, most of whom were Muslims.
Omer Kanat, executive director of UHRP, stated in the statement, “How many more deaths will occur before Thai authorities act with humanity to release these innocent people who are merely seeking safe haven.” “Uyghurs around the world are filled with anguish that these refugees have been left in misery for nine years and that the world has not lifted a finger to rescue them.”
Dolkun Isa, president of the World Uyghur Congress, expressed alarm on the “harsh conditions of detention, which we fear can only result in the death of all remaining detainees.”
As with many Southeast Asian nations, Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, making those seeking asylum subject to detention and prosecution as “illegal migrants.”
According to the Uighur organizations, Mattohti was admitted to the hospital last Friday after suffering from severe stomach discomfort, vomiting, and developing jaundice for weeks. Shortly after being admitted, he passed away.
His passing has not yet been formally confirmed by Thailand.
Aziz Abdullah, 49, who had also been imprisoned for nine years, passed away in February from pneumonia.
Elaine Pearson, Asia Director for Human Rights Watch, stated in a statement that “Thai authorities are putting people at risk by keeping them for years in appalling conditions in immigration detention centers.”
