Below is an article published by UNPO:

Twenty-two Uyghurs arrived in Cambodia in recent weeks and have claimed asylum on the basis that they face harsh treatment in China following accusations of an involvement in violent protests on July 5th earlier this year (2009).  The charges against them remain unknown.  Secretary General of the UNPO, Marino Busadachin, called the extradition "a fateful decision from which death sentences should be expected."  Mr. Busdachin noted that China's past record had shown that it "could not be trusted to protect the rights of those under trial...in a society where political expediency had repeatedly and consistently dictated judicial process."

The Chinese authorities have used the unrest as a smokescreen to increase the use of oppressive policies against the Uyghurs and unwarrantedly label them as criminals. Thousands of Uyghurs have been detained, regardless of their involvement in the demonstrations and ensuing turbulence and the human rights of imprisoned Uyghurs are harshly violated.

Over the past few months, news has surfaced of death sentences being imposed by Chinese authorities on at least 20 of the Uyghurs in custody, 9 of whom were executed in November 2009 to international condemnation (For example European Parliament Resolution dated 26 November 2009). The trials have been shrouded in secrecy and have been carried out in a hasty fashion. Uyghurs were denied their right to a lawyer and no independent observers were permitted to the trials. 

Sending any asylum seeker back to China could very well lead to the detainment, trial and potentially the execution of the people involved. This story is reminiscent of previous instances of extradition where even non-Chinese nationals face unfair trials and long prison sentences when forcibly returned to China.  Huseyin Celil, an ethnic Uyghur who once fled China and  gained Canadian citizenship, was arrested in Uzbekistan in April 2006. He was extradited to China against the objections of the Canadian government and sentenced to life in prison.

Since China has shown utter disregard to its constitutional and international obligations in their legal processes against the Uyghurs, the possible trial of any of the 22 asylum seekers ought to be carried out elsewhere.  If the Uyghurs’ refugee status had been confirmed, Cambodia would be bound not to deport them under the 1951 convention to which it is a party and the jus cogens principle of non-refoulement. 

The status of these individuals has represented a diplomatic challenge for Cambodia this week as China – Cambodia’s biggest investor - is able to exert economic pressure on foreign relations. UNPO believes that the economic ties between Cambodia and China should not interfere with the asylum seeking process of the 22 Uyghurs in any way. Determining the fate of individuals on the basis of unwarranted economic threats goes against the individual rights of the asylum seekers involved.

Speaking on hearing news of the decision, Senator Marco Perduca of the Senate of the Italian Republic stated his belief that “[t]o extradite twenty Uyghurs to China will be to throw them into the jaws of a judicial system that is acknowledged to be partial, which still supports the death penalty, and which has already led to the execution of at least eight Uyghurs in recent months after seriously flawed trials.  I therefore urge the Cambodian authorities to allow the Uyghurs to remain in Cambodia - a country I have always known to be hospitable - while the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees deals with their cases in the proper fashion.”

UNPO calls on Cambodia to immediately refuse requests for extradition, halt this forcible return and reconsider the decision to grant asylum to Uyghurs who face imminent danger in China.