Kyrgyzstan sends three who crossed border back to China
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 12 January 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Kyrgyzstan sends three who crossed border back to China, 12 January 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/54be146020.html [accessed 4 November 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
January 12, 2015
By RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service
BISHKEK – Kyrgyz authorities have returned three Chinese citizens to Chinese authorities after detaining them last week for crossing the border illegally.
The commander of a Kyrgyz border guard unit in the northeastern city of Karakol, Ruslan Zakirov, told RFE/RL that the three men – two ethnic Kyrgyz and an Uyghur – had been returned to China on January 11 on the basis of a local court's ruling.
Kyrgyz border guards detained the men on January 7. They had no identification documents but said they were natives of Kyzyl-Su Kyrgyz prefecture in China's Xinjiang region.
Last January, eleven men from Xinjiang who were armed with knives killed a Kyrgyz forest ranger after crossing the border and were later killed by Kyrgyz security forces.
Along with Uyghurs, Xinjiang has indigenous populations of ethnic Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Tajiks who live mainly in districts bordering those three Central Asian countries.
China has cracked down on Muslim Uyghurs in recent years.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
