The State Department says the United States and other countries made repeated offers to Thailand to resettle more than three dozen Uyghur men before they were deported back to China, where rights grou

Thailand's deportation of 40 Uyghurs to China last week was in the Southeast Asian country's best interest due to the possibility of retaliation from Beijing if the group was sent elsewhere, a Thai minister said on Thursday.

Thailand defended its deportation of 40 Uyghur detainees to China last week as the “best solution” to avoid a backlash from Beijing, after a rights group said the move violated international law and the returnees could face torture.

Pisan Manawapat, a Thai ambassador to Canada and the U.S between 2013 and 2017 and a senator before he retired in 2024, said that at least three countries had approached Thailand with proposals to resettle the Uyghurs, but declined to name them.

Thailand acted in accordance with human rights when it sent 40 Uyghurs back to China last week, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters on Monday.

The Chinese embassy in Thailand has confirmed that a group of Uyghur men detained in Thailand for more than a decade have been deported to China.

Rights groups criticized the Thai government for sending the Uyghurs, a persecuted Muslim minority, back to China, where they face the risk of torture and imprisonment.