‘I want to see my child again’, mother said after sending Uyghur youth from Germany to China

Berlin: A case of Germany deporting a Uyghur youth to China has come to light. The youth’s mother has claimed that as soon as he reached China, he was detained and interrogated. Uyghur human rights activists have expressed deep concern after this incident. He says that there has already been strict action against the Uyghur community in China, so such deportation is a matter of serious concern. 21 year old Arafat Adil holds citizenship of both China and Turkey. His mother Guzelay Adil told that his family left China and came to Turkey in the year 2017.

No official confirmation of deportation

Guzelay Adil said that Arafat was seeking asylum in Germany, but on Tuesday he was deported to China from Frankfurt Airport. He told that his son reached Beijing on Wednesday morning, where he was detained and interrogated. He expressed hope that he would be allowed to board the flight to Istanbul late Thursday night. Guzelay said, ‘If my son does not return to Turkey, I don’t know what will happen to him. I just want to see my child again. However, the authorities of Germany and China have not officially confirmed this deportation.

Uyghur rights activists expressed concern

Uyghur rights activists have expressed concern after this incident came to light. He says that for the last several years, strict action has been taken against Uyghur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in China’s Xinjiang region. About 11 million Uighurs and other minorities live in Xinjiang. Since 2017, China has been accused of detaining Uighurs on a large scale and using them as forced labour. Even before this, there have been incidents of unrest in this area from time to time and this is the reason why Many countries including America have been giving shelter to Uighurs..

‘No complete ban on deportation of Uighurs’

Abduweli Ayup, founder of Norway-based non-profit organization Uyghur Help, said the news of another Uyghur being deported to China is extremely sad. He said that this step of Germany, a key member of the European Union, sets a wrong example, which is weakening the hopes of Uighurs living inside and outside China. The Interior Ministry of Hesse, the German state in which Frankfurt is located, did not immediately respond to questions sent by the news agency. At the same time, Germany’s Home Ministry said,

‘In general, there is no blanket ban on the deportation of Uyghurs to China. “However, the current policy of the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) states that if a person’s country of origin is China and he or she is a Uyghur, he or she should normally be granted protection.”

On the other hand, China’s Foreign Ministry also did not immediately answer the questions asked on this matter.

Such a case has already come to light in Germany

Arafat Adil’s mother told that her son had also got a Turkish passport in 2024. He said that he could not understand why Germany sent his son to China instead of Turkey, even though he had valid passports of both the countries. It is also not clear on what basis Arafat had sought asylum in Germany. Germany considers Turkey a safe country of origin. This is not the first time such a case has come to light. Last year in November also, Germany had mistakenly sent a Uyghur woman named Rezivanguli Bekeli to China instead of Turkey. According to the German magazine Der Spiegel it was an administrative mistake. However, the woman moved from Beijing to Turkey after some time.

China puts pressure on Uyghurs to send them back

According to the report, China has been pressurizing other countries for a long time to send back Uyghur citizens who fled China. In the same sequence, in February 2025, Thailand also sent at least 40 Uighurs back to China, which was considered one of the most discussed deportation incidents in recent years.

Also read: Uyghur Muslims had blasted the ‘Brahma’ temple, 20 people lost their lives, now they got death sentence