BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand should be commended for its handling of its return of 40 Uyghur Muslims to China, a deputy premier said on Friday, as his country endured a torrent of international condemnation over its secretive deportation.

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 United States embassy in Bangkok on Friday issued a security alert for its citizens in Thailand, a day after the secretive deportation of 40 Uyghurs to China that has drawn international condemnation.