A British Conservative says he was recently detained and deported from Djibouti due to the east African country’s close ties with Beijing.
Tim Loughton is one of seven UK MPs who have been facing sanctions from China since 2021 for what the Asian country called the spreading of “lies and disinformation” about human rights abuses in Xinjiang, a territory in northwest China, which is home to many ethnic minority groups.
Mr. Loughton told BBC’s Radio 4 Today’s programme that he had been held for more than seven hours at the airport, barred entry to Djibouti, and told he was being removed on the next available flight.
“Djibouti is effectively a vassel state of China – what China wants, Djibouti kowtows to and having a troublesome MP who has been sanctioned by China turning up on their doorstep was clearly something they didn’t want to entertain,” he said.
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British authorities say even though Djibouti has a right to refuse entry at their discretion, the UK government would be seeking more information on the case.
