Egyptian Police Detain Uighurs and Deport Them to China
More than 80 Uighurs are currently detained in Cairo, at least 10 of whom were arrested on July 1, according to Lucia Parrucci of the Unrepresented Nations
and Peoples Organization, which represents the World Uyghur Congress, an advocacy group based in Germany.
By NOUR YOUSSEFJULY 6, 2017
CAIRO — At least 12 Chinese nationals were deported
and put on a flight to China late Thursday, and 22 more were detained for immediate deportation, three Egyptian aviation officials said.
According to a Chinese student who said he was friends with some of those detained, all were Uighurs, members of an ethnic group
that is mostly Sunni Muslim and lives mainly in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang.
"They were worried about getting arrested in Cairo but they decided because they knew
that if they go to China, they will definitely get arrested." The repatriations seemed to be in support of the Chinese government’s deepening effort to stifle resistance among Uighurs in Xinjiang, which neighbors Central Asia.
Two of the aviation officials said that the Egyptian police had ordered them to deport
at least 22 Chinese nationals on Thursday without providing an explanation.