Uighurs released because they did nothing wrong: Dr M
Published on: Tuesday, October 16, 2018
Kuala Lumpur: Eleven ethnic Uighur Muslims who fled here after a Thai jailbreak last year were freed because they did nothing wrong there, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said on Monday.Reuters, citing the men's lawyer, reported last week that Malaysia had released the 11 from detention and sent them to Turkey, disregarding China's request to hand them to Beijing."They have done nothing wrong in this country, so they are released," Mahathir said in brief comments to reporters in parliament.
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The move is likely to strain ties with China, which have already been tested after the cancellation of more than US$20 billion (RM83 billion) worth of projects awarded to Chinese companies.China, which had asked for their extradition, said on Friday that it "resolutely" opposed Malaysia's decision to release the 11 Uighurs and send them to Turkey.Prosecutors dropped charges against the Uighurs on humanitarian grounds, their lawyer said.The men were detained and charged with illegally entering Malaysia after November's daring prison break, during which they punched holes in a prison wall and used blankets as ladders.
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Reuters reported in February that Malaysia was under great pressure from China to send the men there. Some Western missions sought to dissuade Kuala Lumpur from sending them to China, which has been accused of persecuting Uighurs.Beijing accuses separatist extremists among the Uighur minority of plotting attacks on China's Han majority in the restive far western region of Xinjiang and elsewhere.
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