The German state of Lower Saxony has sparked international condemnation after deporting a Uyghur woman to China, a decision critics are calling a “human rights violation” and a potential breach of both German and European law. The woman, a 56-year-old member of the Muslim Uyghur minority facing severe repression in Xinjiang, was flown from Frankfurt to Beijing on November 4th.
The deportation circumvented a previous decision by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf), which had initially designated Turkey as the appropriate destination country. The foreign authorities in the Rotenburg an der Wümme district apparently disregarded this directive, proceeding with the deportation to China. Anthropologist Adrian Zenz, a long-time researcher of Uyghur persecution, characterized the incident as a “concrete scandal” and a “Niedersächsischen Menschenrechtsverbrechen” (Niedersachsen human rights crime).
Remarkably, after arriving in Beijing, the woman was able to transit through Dubai and ultimately reach Istanbul, avoiding potential detention or “re-education” measures that authorities in China could have imposed.
Lower Saxony’s Interior Ministry claims it was not informed of the deportation, with Interior Minister Daniela Behrens (SPD) expressing regret, stating it was “not the intention of the state government” to deport members of the Uyghur minority to China.
The incident has drawn sharp criticism from across the political spectrum. Helge Limburg, Green Party legal affairs expert, denounced the action as a “violation of the Basic Law and the European Convention on Human Rights”. He questioned why a deportation to Turkey, previously determined as the appropriate destination, was not pursued instead.
According to the Rotenburg district, officials “implemented the directives of Bamf”. A letter dated June 19, 2023, sent to the woman by an official from the Rotenburg foreign authority, explicitly informed her that Bamf had ordered her to leave for Turkey, threatening deportation if she did not comply. However, acknowledging her lack of Turkish identification documents, the letter added, “if deportation is carried out, you will not be deported to Turkey, but to China.
The case echoes a 2018 incident in Munich involving the deportation of a 22-year-old Uyghur, also precipitated by a bureaucratic error. Following that event, deportations of Uyghurs to China were essentially suspended. This new development raises crucial questions about oversight within German authorities and the potential for further breaches of international human rights obligations concerning vulnerable populations facing persecution. The controversy is likely to intensify scrutiny of Germany’s deportation policies and its relationship with China.