The Associated Press
BEIJING — China's foreign ministry on Monday 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 says they are suspected criminals.
They were deported back to China on Saturday despite protests from the U.S. and the U.N. 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 said in a faxed statement. "The Chinese side received the above-mentioned people according to usual practice."
No comments:
Post a Comment