Thailand has defended its move to return 40 Uygurs to China. The US last week imposed travel sanctions on Thai officials over the deportation.

The U.S. State Department has announced sanctions on an unknown number of current and former Thai officials for their role in deporting at least 40 Uyghur men to China despite worries that they could be jailed or even face death there.

The State Department said it was “combating China’s efforts to pressure governments to forcibly return Uyghurs and other groups to China.”