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.

The US condemned "in the strongest possible terms" Thailand's return of 40 Uygur men to China on Thursday and called for Beijing to provide regular access to verify their well-being. "As Thailand's long-standing ally,

Human rights groups warned that the Uyghurs, who were held in Bangkok for more than a decade, will face mistreatment from Chinese authorities back in Xinjiang.