Dear Prime Minister Najib,
WE are writing to you to
again raise serious concerns about your government’s forced return refoulement of
Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic minority, to China. We are especially concerned about
the fate of six Uighurs forcibly returned to China in December and other
Uighurs currently in Malaysian government custody who may face similar
violations of their basic rights.
The Chinese government
frequently accuses Uighurs, particularly those seeking asylum, of being
terrorists or separatists without providing evidence to substantiate such
claims.
The Chinese government’s
definition of 'terrorism' and 'separatism' in relation to Uighurs encompasses
peaceful expression that is protected under international and domestic Chinese
law.
Human Rights Watch and other
organizations have documented in detail abuses against Uighurs. We have also
documented past instances in which Malaysia deported individuals seeking asylum
to countries where they had well-founded fears of being persecuted or tortured,
such as the return of Hamza Kashgari to Saudi Arabia in February 2012, where he
awaits trial on charges of apostasy, which can result in a death sentence.
In the past three years,
Human Rights Watch has documented an increasing number of occasions in which a
number of governments, including Malaysia, have acted in violation of the
customary international law prohibition against refoulement, as well as in
contravention of domestic law and procedures, by forcibly returning to China
Uighurs who have sought asylum or who have been prevented from lodging refugee
claims.
In August 2011, for example, your government
returned at least 11 Uighurs in violation of international law. These
individuals were given no opportunity to challenge their deportation. According
to media reports, one individual who was deported despite having been in Malaysia
legally has now been sentenced to six years in prison on charges of alleged 'separatism.'
There is little information
regarding the fate of the other 10 and possibly more individuals. We have
received no reply from your government to our August 22, 2011 letter on this
subject.
We write now to express
concern about a similar incident in December 2012. According to our sources, Malaysia deported
six Uighur men back to China on December 31.
The six had been detained
earlier in 2012, allegedly for attempting to leave Malaysia on false
passports. While in detention, these six
men were registered with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees and were permitted to proceed with refugee status determination (RSD)
interviews.
Although all six had asylum
claims under review for first instance decisions, Malaysian police transferred
the men in late December into the custody of Chinese authorities, who escorted
them from Malaysia to China on a chartered flight. No further information has been made
available to us.
We believe this forcible
return of asylum seekers constitutes an act of refoulement, violating
Malaysia’s international legal obligations.
We are concerned that these
six men were part of a larger group of Uighurs detained by Malaysian
authorities. We wish to request information from you on the status and
whereabouts of any other members of this larger group who may still be in
Malaysian detention.
We have raised our grave
concerns with the Chinese government about their repeated actions to pressure
other governments, particularly in Asia, to summarily return Uighurs without
affording them due process rights, including the right to seek asylum.
We note that some other
governments have taken more positive steps to strengthen protections afforded
to Uighurs and others from Chinaseeking refugee status.
We urge that the government
of Malaysia take immediate steps to clarify the details of the December 2012
incident, and publicly reiterate its commitment to respecting international law
and procedures in all refugee and asylum cases.
Malaysia should also sign
and ratify 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967
protocol as well as the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
These actions would
formalize Malaysia’s existing obligation under customary international law not
to return people to places where they would likely face persecution or torture.
We thank you for your
consideration of this very important matter. We look forward to learning what
actions you have taken in this regard.
Sincerely,
BILL FRELICK
Director Refugee Program
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