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.

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on Thailand to immediately stop the planned deportation of 48 Uyghurs to China, citing serious risks of torture and inhumane treatment.

The family was detained in Thailand in 2014 after fleeing increasing repression in their hometown in China's Xinjiang province. She and the children were allowed to leave Thailand a year later. But her husband remained in detention, along with 47 other Uyghur men. Niluper – not her real name – now fears she and her children may never see him again.

US President Donald Trump's incoming secretary of state is among those calling for Thailand not to deport a group Uyghurs to China, where it is feared they would face persecution.

A group of Uyghurs who were detained in Thailand over a decade ago say that the Thai government is preparing to deport them to China, alarming activists who say the men are at risk of abuse and torture if they are sent back.

The government of Thailand must immediately halt the possible transfer of 48 Uyghurs to the Peoples Republic of China, United Nations experts said on Tuesday, warning that the group was at real risk of torture or other cruel,