The deportation to China of 20 Uighurs who had sought refuge in Cambodia shows that Beijing's mistreatment of the mainly Muslim minority continues unabated, Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer said Monday.

The 20 Uighurs, who had fled China's far western Xinjiang region after unrest erupted there in July, were seeking asylum with the help of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) in Phnom Penh.
 

They were deported late Saturday aboard a Chinese plane, despite protests from the United States, the UN and rights groups.
 

"Cambodia's decision to deport the asylum seekers [...] is a reminder that Beijing’s oppression of the Uighurs does not stop at China's borders," Kadeer said in a commentary in the Wall Street Journal Asia.
 

"China's track record of mistreating repatriated Uighur refugees leads us to fear that they can expect even worse on Chinese soil," said Kadeer, the leader of the World Uighur Congress who lives in exile in the United States.

Contravening international law
Cambodian officials said the Uighurs were expelled in accordance with domestic law, but rights groups said the move contravened an international convention on refugees.
 

Kadeer said the move reflected Beijing's growing clout in the region, saying Phnom Penh's decision was "no doubt influenced by enormous Chinese pressure, backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in aid".
 

She also noted that the Uighurs were deported on the eve of the start of a visit to Cambodia by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.
 

"Governments of countries neighbouring China are reluctant to take any action that would displease Chinese authorities, leaving Uighurs nowhere to flee," Kadeer said.
 

She urged the United States and other nations to "call upon China to provide the 20 repatriated Uighurs with due process of law".

Violence continues
Clashes between Xinjiang's Uighurs and China's majority Han ethnic group in July left nearly 200 dead and 1,600 injured, according to official tolls.
 

The violence erupted when Uighurs - who have long complained of repression under Chinese rule - attacked members of China's Han ethnic majority. In subsequent days, mobs of Han roamed the streets seeking revenge.
 

Last month, nine people were executed for their roles in the violence.
 

Source: AFP