The United States has announced sanctions against Thai officials involved in the deportation of 40 Uyghurs back to China. These individuals, who belong to a persecuted Muslim minority group, had been detained in Thailand for nearly a decade.

The U.S. State Department has imposed visa sanctions on an unspecified number of current and former Thai officials for their role in last month’s deportation of 40 Uyghur asylum seekers to China.

Human rights advocates say at least some of the eight ethnic minority Uyghurs who remain in Thailand’s custody since authorities deported 40 others to China last month are at risk of the same fate.