Source: UNPO
UNPO voices concerns about the safety of 22 Uyghurs currently seeking asylum in Cambodia as well as the fate of 5 more Uyghurs sentenced to death yesterday [3 December 2009] for allegedly taking part in the Urumqi riots.
Uyghur Refugees in Cambodia
UNPO is deeply concerned about the safety and the possible extradition of 22 Uyghurs currently seeking asylum in Cambodia.
Yesterday [3 December 2009], The Washington Post has reported that twenty-two Uyghurs, allegedly involved in the Urumqi unrest, have claimed asylum in Cambodia. The Chinese government has demanded that they be returned to China and tried on charges of ‘splittism’. Such a rendition would violate the principle of non-refoulement embodied in international law through the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1984 Convention on Torture. Both conventions forbid the expulsion of refugees into an area where they would be likely to be subjected to persecution, torture or execution.
UNPO General Secretary Mr. Marino Busdachin has expressed concern about the possibility of extradition to China. “If this past month’s legal proceedings are any indication of the due process China affords Uyghurs, there would be little likelihood for fair trials”.
Cambodia has been criticised in the past for its record on refugee rights following several documented cases of forcible repatriation of asylum seekers to Vietnam.
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