Saudi Arabia: 13-Year-Old Uyghur Girl Among Four At Risk of Possible Deportation
A 13-year-old Uyghur girl is among four people at imminent risk of being deported from Saudi Arabia amid fears that deportation plans may already be underway.
On March 31, 2022, Buheliqiemu Abula and her daughter were detained near Mecca without charge by Saudi officials, and told they faced deportation to China along with two Uyghur men who were already being held.
Abula is also the former wife of Nuermeiti Ruze, who, with Aimidoula Waili, has been detained without charge in Saudi Arabia since November 2020 amid very difficult detention conditions.
The four people are now at risk of being deported to China where Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities are facing a horrific campaign of mass internment, persecution and torture, would be an outrageous violation of international law.
As a party to the UN Convention against Torture, Saudi Arabia is obligated to ensure that no one in its custody is forcibly sent to a place where they would risk being subjected to persecution, torture, or other serious human rights violations.
We raise serious concerns that if deported to China, the four people will face the same fate and be at grave risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
As part of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Saudi Arabia should not extradite a person to another country where they would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
