Thailand acted in accordance with human rights when it sent 40 Uyghurs back to China last week, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra told reporters on Monday.

A group of at least 40 Uyghur men detained in Thailand for more than a decade have been deported to China, Thai and Chinese officials said Thursday. The men made a public appeal last month to halt the deportation,

Human rights groups warned that the Uyghurs, who were held in Bangkok for more than a decade, will face mistreatment from Chinese authorities back in Xinjiang.