16.11.2004 - Source: Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

14 ethnic Uyghurs extradited to China and Kyrgyzstan in the past 6 years for involvement in separatist organization called Eastern Turkestan Liberation Party ("Kazakhstan Reveals Uyghur Extraditions") [#27084],  [ID 4496]

Document(s): Open document

07.07.2004 - Source: Amnesty International

Growing numbers of Uighurs that fled repression are being forcibly returned to China where they face torture and execution ("Fleeing Uighurs forced back to "anti-terror" torture and execution") [#23837],  [ID 4497]

Document(s): Open document

19.12.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

AI: Uighur deported from Nepal despite being recognized as refugee by the UNHCR ("China: International community must oppose attempt to brand peaceful political activists as "terrorists"") [#18296],  [ID 4498]

"[...]
In October, it was reported in the official Chinese media that Shaheer Ali, a Uighur pro-independence activist who was forcibly returned to China from Nepal last year, had been executed after being convicted in an apparently unfair trial of various offences including "separatism" and "organizing and leading a terrorist organization." He had been recognized as a refugee by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Nepal and was awaiting resettlement to a third country before his arrest and deportation.
[...]"

Document(s): Open document

24.10.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

AI: Uighur Shaheer Ali executed for "terrorist activities" after being deported from Nepal ("China - Further Information on UA 119/02") [#17066],  [ID 4500]

"Amnesty International is deeply concerned that Shaheer Ali, a member of the Uighur ethnic groupfrom the Xinjiang Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwest China, has reportedly been executed after being forcibly returned to China from Nepal last year. There are concerns for the safety of Kheyum Whashim Ali, Abdu Allah Sattar andother Uighurs who have also been forcibly returned to China after seeking asylum in Nepal and elsewhere.
[...]
Shaheer Ali was among several Uighurs, including Kheyum Whashim Ali and Abdu Allah Sattar, who had been recognized as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) after they fled to Nepal in 2000. Shaheer Ali and Abdu Allah Sattar were detained by Nepalese immigration authoritiesin December 2001 and forcibly returned to China in January 2002. Kheyum Whashim Ali was forcibly returned in mid-2002 after being detained by immigration and police authorities in Nepal.
[...]
China is also putting pressure on neighbouring countries, such as Nepal, Pakistan and Central Asian countries, to repatriate Uighurs, including asylum seekers and refugees.
[...]"

Document(s): Open document
Open document

27.06.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

AI: Tibetans arrested and in danger od being deported from Nepal ("Nepal/ China - UA 191/03") [#13940],  [ID 4501]

"Nineteen unnamed Tibetans have been detained in Nepal after crossing the border from Tibet. Amnesty International fears they may be forcibly returned to China where they would be at risk of detention without charge, torture and other serious human rights violations.
[...]
Amnesty International's fears for their safety are heightened by the forced return from Nepal to China of a group of 18 Tibetans, including eight children, on 31 May 2003. The group was returned in a joint operation carried out by officials from Nepal and China.
[...]
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Until recently, the Nepali authorities have allowed UNHCR to assess the claims of Tibetan asylum seekers and facilitate their resettlement or transit to third countries, usually India. The forcible return of the 18 Tibetans on 31 May was an alarming departure from that practice.
The Nepali authorities have increasingly begun to detain Tibetan asylum seekers if they cannot afford to pay fines charged for their "illegal entry" into Nepal, thus making it more difficult for UNHCR to gain access to them. UNHCR were unable to interview and assess the claims of the group of 18 Tibetans following their entry to Nepal despite repeated requests to the Nepali authorities.
Their forcible return appears to confirm widely held suspicions that China has increased its pressure on other countries to return its nationals over recent months. Last year, three ethnic Uighur asylum seekers from China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (XUAR) are believed to have been forcibly returned to China from Nepal, even after they had been granted refugee status by UNHCR. The fate of two of them, Shaheer Ali and Abdu Allah Sattar, remains unclear but unofficial sources suggest that the other man, Kheyum Whashim Ali, is currently detained near Urumqi, the capital of the XUAR. His legal status and state of health are unknown. Amnesty International remains seriously concerned for his safety.
[...]"

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Open document

04.06.2003 - Source: BBC News

18 Tibetans, including eight minors, deported to China almost two months after they had been arrested on charges of illegally entering the country ("China defends Nepal deportations") [#13250],  [ID 4502]

Document(s): Open document

02.06.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

AI: Nepal: Forcible returns of Tibetans to China ("Nepal: Forcible return of Tibetans to China unacceptable") [#13385],  [ID 4503]

"Amnesty International today condemned the forcible return to China of 18 Tibetan asylum seekers from Nepal on Saturday and called on the international community to do more to ensure that individual states uphold their obligations toward refugees and asylum seekers under international standards.

"Increasingly we are finding that nowhere is safe for refugees and asylum seekers from China, particularly neighbouring countries like Nepal," Amnesty International said.
[...]
This latest operation appears to confirm widely held suspicions that China has increased its pressure on other countries to return its nationals over recent months.
[...]
The 18 people were among a group of 21 Tibetans, including eleven under the age of eighteen, who had been detained by the police in mid-April 2003 after making the hazardous border crossing into Nepal from Tibet. They were charged with entering Nepal "illegally" and given prison sentences of up to ten months.
[...]
Until now, the Nepali authorities have allowed UNHCR to assess the claims of Tibetan asylum seekers and facilitate their resettlement or transit to third countries, usually India. UNHCR has described the Saturday deportations as an 'alarming departure' from that practice.

While it is not a party to the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, Nepal is party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment which prohibits the return of anyone to a country where they are at risk of torture, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child which obliges States to ensure that a child who is seeking refugee status receives appropriate protection."

Document(s): Open document

31.05.2003 - Source: BBC News

18 Tibetan refugees deported back to China ("Nepal deports 18 Tibetans") [#13146],  [ID 4504]

Document(s): Open document