Thai authorities should immediately investigate the death of an ethnic Uyghur asylum seeker who had spent nine years in immigration detention, Human Rights Watch said today. The case highlights the need for Thailand’s government to end the indefinite detention of asylum seekers.

<p>It has been 7 years since Adem Karadağ and Yusufu Mieraili were detained and put on trial for their involvement in the bombing of the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok. Enmeshed in a legal quagmire, their lawyer says no clear evidence has yet proved them guilty thus far.</p>

<p>In a petition submitted to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, representatives from several civil society organisations have demanded that the Thai government stop returning Uyghur refugees to China and arrange for their relocation to safe-haven countries.</p>