Hundreds of same-sex couples are expected to tie the knot across Thailand on Thursday as the country becomes the first in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage equality.

It's a big week for LGBTQ+ couples in Thailand. On Thursday, they will be able to legally register their marriages, making it only the third place in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal, where they have such a right.

LGBTQ+ couples and activists have gathered in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, to celebrate ahead of the country’s first same-sex weddings on Thursday (23 January). Last June, Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise gay marriage.

International pressure is mounting on Thailand – including from the new US administration – over the fate of dozens of Uyghur men held in detention for more than a decade, following reports the Thai government planned to deport the group to China.

United Nations (UN) experts have urged Thailand not to deport 48 Uyghurs to China and to treat people deprived of their liberty more humanely.

Dozens of men from the ethnic minority sought escape from repression in China a decade ago, but have been detained in Thailand ever since.