China defends forced repatriation of Uighur asylum-seekers

China defends deportation of Uighur asylum-seekers

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.”

Jiang added that China is strongly opposed to and cracks down on illegal immigration and hopes the international community can work together to jointly fight such crimes. She did not say where the Uighurs were or whether they had been charged with any crime upon their return to China.

The U.S. State Department said Sunday it was “deeply disturbed” by the move, which may have violated Cambodia’s international obligations to asylum-seekers. The U.S. also says it is concerned about the welfare of the Uighurs.

State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid said the incident would affect Cambodia’s relationship with the United States and its international standing.

The ethnic rioting in July between Uighurs and the majority Han Chinese was China’s worst communal violence in decades. The Chinese government says the violence left nearly 200 people, mostly Han, dead.

Overseas Uighur groups say Uighurs have been rounded up in mass detentions since the violence. China has handed down at least 17 death sentences over the rioting.