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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia released 11 ethnic Uyghur Muslims who fled into the Southeast Asian nation after being incarcerated in Thailand last year because they were not allowed to live in Thailand. have done nothing wrong there, said Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, speaking at a press conference with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (not pictured) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, August 20, 2018. Comment Hwee Young / Pool via REUTERS
Reuters, citing the two men's lawyer, announced last week that Malaysia had released the 11 people imprisoned and sent them to Turkey, ignoring China's request to hand them over to Beijing.
"They have done nothing wrong in this country, so they are released," Mahathir said in a brief comment to reporters in parliament, the first from the Malaysian government since their release.
The Malaysian initiative was likely to expand ties with China, which have already been tested since Mahathir won a landslide victory in May and canceled projects worth more than $ 20 billion (15). , 3 billion pounds) allocated to Chinese companies.
China, which had asked for their extradition, said on Friday that it "resolutely" opposed Malaysia's decision to release the 11 Uighurs and send them to Turkey.
Prosecutors in Malaysia, with a Muslim majority, have dropped charges against Uighurs for humanitarian reasons, their lawyer said.
The men were arrested and charged with entering Malaysia illegally after the daring breakthrough at the November prison, during which they punched a prison wall and used blankets as ladders.
Reuters reported in February that China was under intense pressure to send men there. Some Western missions have sought to dissuade Kuala Lumpur from sending them to China, accused of persecuting Uyghurs.
Beijing accuses separatist extremists of the Uyghur minority of planning attacks against the Han majority in China in the troubled region of Xinjiang, in the far west of the country, and elsewhere.
China has been accused of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, torture against Uyghur detainees and strict controls of their religion and culture. He denies wrongdoing.
Over the years, hundreds, if not thousands, of Uyghurs have fled the unrest by going underground to Southeast Asia and Turkey.
Reportage of Joseph Sipalan; Edited by A. Ananthalakshmi and Paul Tait
