BANGKOK (Reuters) -- Thailand should be commended for its handling of its return of 40 Uyghur Muslims to China, a deputy premier said on Friday, as his country endured a torrent of international condemnation over its secretive deportation.
The 40 Uyghurs had been held in Thailand for a decade. They were deported to China in a pre-dawn operation on Thursday, defying calls from United Nations human rights experts who said they would be at risk of torture, ill-treatment and "irreparable harm" if returned.
