Germany has deported a Uyghur man to China where there are concerns he could be detained as a member of an ethnic group that has been targeted by the Chinese government, his mother told The Associated Press on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
Arafat Adil, 21, a dual Chinese-Turkish national who has lived in Turkey with his family since they moved there from China in 2017 and who was seeking asylum in Germany, was deported from the Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday, said his mother, Guzelay Adil. <\/p>\n
Arafat Adil landed Wednesday morning in Beijing where he was taken into custody and interrogated, Guzelay Adil said. She said she was hoping her son would be allowed to board a flight to Istanbul around midnight on Thursday. \u201cI don\u2019t know what would happen if my son doesn\u2019t return to Turkey,\u201d Guzelay Adil said from Istanbul in an interview. \u201cI hope to see my child again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Authorities in Germany and China did not immediately confirm Arafat Adil\u2019s deportation. <\/p>\n
Word of the deportation raised concerns among Uyghur rights activists due to China\u2019s yearslong campaign of assimilation<\/a> in Xinjiang, its far western region that is home to over 11 million Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities. In 2017, Beijing began a campaign of mass detention and alleged forced labor in the region, which was the site of sporadic episodes of unrest over the past few decades.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s heartbreaking to learn of another Uyghur being deported to China,\u201d said Abduweli Ayup, founder of the Norway-based nonprofit Uyghur Hjelp. He added that the \u201cbad example\u201d set by Germany as a leading member of the European Union is causing Uyghurs to lose hope \u201cinside and outside of China.\u201d<\/p>\n The Interior Ministry of the State of Hesse, where Frankfurt is located, did not immediately reply to an email from the AP requesting details about the deportation.<\/p>\n The German Interior Ministry said that in general there\u2019s no suspension of deportations for Uyghurs to China but added that \u201chowever, the current guiding principle of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees provides that, as a rule, protection should be granted to Uyghurs in cases involving China as the country of origin.\u201d<\/p>\n China\u2019s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to questions about the case.<\/p>\n Arafat Adil\u2019s family moved to Turkey in 2017, where he later obtained a Turkish passport in 2024, his mother said. She expressed confusion as to Germany\u2019s decision to deport Arafat Adil to China instead of Turkey, as she said he held passports from both countries.<\/p>\n