私たちがマレーシア政府に対して理解していただきたいのは、拷問、強制的失踪、恣意的拘禁など人権侵害の重大な危険にさらされる国に、このウイグル人たちを送り返すことは、国際法と人権規範に違反するだけでなく、道徳的に間違った行動であるという点です。
I am writing on behalf of the (ORGANIZATION) in (LOCATION), aninternational organization representing the collective interests of the Uyghurpeople living primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
On behalf of the Uyghur community, we urge you to halt thedeportation of 11 Uyghur refugees currently in custody in Malaysia. We appealto the humanity of the Malaysian government to save their lives and ensure theyare resettled in a safe third country. We understand that the Chinesegovernment is likely applying pressure to Malaysia to return the refugees, butthis decision must not be taken lightly as the very lives of these 11 peopleare at stake.
We must stress the seriousness of this situation. If deported toChina, these 11 people will have no fair trial and no access to justice.Instead they will likely be subjected to arbitrary detention, enforceddisappearance and torture in Chinese custody. Over the last 20 years, the WorldUyghur Congress has documented over 300 cases of Uyghurs having been extraditedto China, some from Malaysia. In the vast majority of these cases, we neverhear from them again. If the Malaysian government extradites these refugees, itstands as a death sentence.
We would like to remind the Malaysian government that sendinganyone back to a country where they would be at significant risk of torture,enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and other serious violations ofhuman rights is not only a violation of international law and human rightsnorms, but a morally wrong action.
These 11 people fled China in search of a better life, wherethey could practice their religion without persecution and live their livesfree of discrimination on account of their ethnic identity. For their efforts,they were detained in Thailand for nearly four years with no access to justiceand under a constant threat of deportation. We ask you to please not inflictmore suffering on them.
These people are fathers, husbands, brothers and sons. If theMalaysian government hands them over to China, not only will the lives of these11 people be irreparably damaged, it will also devastate their family and lovedones and the entire Uyghur community.
We assure you that a detailed investigation should clear theseindividuals of any wrong doing. The Chinese government has consistently triedto label innocent Uyghurs as ‘terrorists’, given their religious backgrounds,though no evidence has been presented to support this accusation.
We, members of the Uyghur community, once again implore theMalaysian government to support international human rights norms and ensurethat the Uyghurs are not returned to China.
