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.

Dozens of Uyghur men detained in Thailand after fleeing China may have been secretly deported to their home country, activists and rights groups said on Thursday, warning they could face torture and imprisonment on their return.

Thai officials have defended their deportation of 40 Uyghurs to China despite warnings the ethnic minorities may possibly face torture or death. The country's unelected government, under the influence of convicted swindler and Sinophile Thaksin Shinawatra,