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Parliamentary question - E-000199/2018Parliamentary question
E-000199/2018

VP/HR — Uighur asylum-seeker in Bulgaria at risk of deportation

Question for written answer E-000199-18
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 130
Ilhan Kyuchyuk (ALDE)

In the midst of China’s increasing calls for the repatriation of Uighurs from several countries, five Uighurs who were seeking asylum in Bulgaria in July 2017 are now at risk of deportation. Five young people arrived in Bulgaria, crossing the border from Turkey, but were immediately detained by the Bulgarian police and have been held in the village of Lyubimits ever since. While Human Rights organisations have been contacted, it has become known that the Uighurs, in spite of their right to asylum in accordance with the non-refoulement principle, could still face deportation to China.

On 19 December 2017, they were informed that their request for asylum had been refused.

The Uighurs in China are highly discriminated against by the Chinese Government and deported Uighurs face torture and the risk of death sentences.

Is the EU looking into this and is it considering pressurising the Bulgarian authorities to stop the deportation of the five Uighur asylum-seekers?

Does the EU intend to raise concerns more generally about the deportation of Uighurs and members of other Chinese minorities?

Last updated: 5 February 2018
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