Munich [Germany], July 26 (ANI): The World Uyghur Congress (WUC) and the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) have strongly condemned the deportation of a 21-year-old Uyghur man, Arafat Adil, from Germany to China, describing the move as a violation of international human rights obligations and warning that it exposed him to the risk of arbitrary detention, prolonged interrogation and torture.According to a press release issued by the WUC, Adil was deported by German authorities on July 21 via Frankfurt Airport to Beijing despite being a Uyghur from East Turkistan (Xinjiang), a community that rights groups say faces systematic persecution by the Chinese government.As cited in the WUC press release, Adil was reportedly taken into custody and interrogated upon his arrival in Beijing. Following the intervention of Turkish diplomats, he was later allowed to leave China and arrived in Turkiye on July 23.The WUC and STP have called for a binding halt to the deportation of Uyghurs from Germany to China, arguing that individuals belonging to persecuted communities must be given special consideration before any removal decision is carried out. The organisations also demanded an explanation from the German government as to how, despite Germany’s own recognition of the persecution of Uyghurs in China, a third deportation of this nature could take place.According to the press release, Adil holds both Turkish and Chinese citizenship. His family fled China in 2017 and has lived in Turkiye since then. In 2024, he obtained a Turkish passport. Although his asylum application in Germany was unsuccessful and the proceedings were discontinued, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees reportedly found no legal obstacle to his deportation and explicitly identified China as the destination country.The WUC noted that this decision appeared to contradict the Federal Office’s own guidance, which generally protects Uyghurs from China. The organisation further cited the German Federal Ministry of the Interior as stating that Germany does not maintain a formal suspension on deportations of Uyghurs to China, despite the Federal Office’s general practice of granting them protection.Mirjam Kobold, STP Commissioner for Genocide Prevention, criticised the deportation, saying that Germany’s existing protection framework for Uyghurs is “plainly insufficient.” She stated that the Federal Government should urgently revise its current policies, arguing that Uyghurs returning to China face detention, interrogation and torture.Kobold further stressed that the principle of non-refoulement, enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Convention against Torture, prohibits the deportation of individuals to countries where they face a substantial risk of torture or inhuman treatment, regardless of the outcome of their asylum claims. According to the WUC, she described the latest case as the third instance in which this protection had allegedly been disregarded.The WUC also criticised the manner in which the deportation was carried out. Zumretay Arkin, Vice-President of the World Uyghur Congress, alleged that German authorities neither informed Adil’s lawyer in advance nor allowed him any communication before his deportation.”It is unconscionable that the German authorities neither informed his lawyer of the deportation in time nor permitted any communication with Arafat,” Arkin said, according to the WUC press release. She further described the deportation of a Uyghur to China, where the organisation says an ongoing genocide is taking place against the Uyghur people, as “deeply alarming” and called for the case to be challenged.The press release further states that the persecution of Uyghurs in East Turkistan has been recognised as genocide by the United States and as crimes against humanity by the European Parliament. It also notes that Uyghurs returning from abroad are considered particularly vulnerable to persecution by Chinese authorities.Reiterating its position, the WUC and STP emphasised that the prohibition on returning individuals to countries where they face torture or persecution is absolute under the European Convention on Human Rights, the UN Convention against Torture and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, irrespective of the outcome of asylum proceedings. (ANI)(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)