Uyghur asylum seeker dies after 9 years in detention

Aziz Abdullah, a 49 year old Uyghur asylum seeker, died after being detained for years at the Bangkok Immigration Detention Centre. His death sparked outrage from human rights groups. They are calling for a humane solution for the plight of around 50 Uyghur asylum seekers who have been detained in Thailand for about nine years.

Abdullah, a farmer from southwestern Xinjiang, arrived in Thailand in late 2013 with seven children, along with his brother and wife, who was pregnant at the time. The group was en route to Turkey via Malaysia when they were stopped in southern Thailand.

Activists like the director of the Refugees Centre of the World Uyghur Congress claim that Thai authorities refused to send Abdullah to the hospital, even though he had been very sick for nearly a month.

“He was coughing and vomiting blood, he could not eat. A doctor at the IDC examined him but said his condition was normal.”

Authorities finally relented only when he collapsed. But he was pronounced dead soon after arriving at the hospital. The death certificate said it was a lung infection.

Following Abdullah’s death, authorities contacted the office of the Chularatchamontree, the leader of Thailand’s Muslim community, to arrange for his immediate burial, in accordance with Islamic custom.

China has been accused of committing crimes against humanity against Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in Xinjiang. Human rights groups believe more than a million people have been held in a vast network of detention camps in recent years.

The Thai authorities have provided all Uyghur asylum seekers in the bureau’s custody with food, medicine, and other necessities. However, activists are concerned about the conditions in which they are being held and are calling for a solution to their plight.

Human rights groups and activists are now calling for a thorough investigation into the circumstances of Abdullah’s death and the treatment of Uyghur asylum seekers in Thailand.