we really have no idea what they're looking for. >> reporter: belash was held for months, then put onom any work that would criticize chinese policies, especially about those prisons. but they continue to attract attention. >> i was also threatened. we decided it is too dangerous to keep living in kazakhstan any more. >> reporter: searching for a safe haven, they turned west to turkey. this majority muslim country is home to an estimated 50,000 uighurs. many from xinjiang. >> asia over there, europe over there. >> reporter: but many say turkey is not as safe as it used to be. >> i asked the government not to deport back our people. >> reporter: as china's influence grows, and after turkey agreed to an extradition treaty with the global superpower last year, protests against deportations became common. >> are uighurs being sent back into china? >> yes. >> against their will? >> yes. the chinese government has really put pressure on governments in central asia and southeast asia, in the middle east, even in parts of europe, to send people back. >> reporter: during a call in july, for th