Activists are pushing back against the looming deportation of a Uighur man in Qatar, fearing he could be jailed upon entry or sent to an internment camp in western China.

The man, Ablikim Yusuf, 53, is stuck at the airport in Doha and was originally set to be put on a flight to Beijing on Saturday. Instead, according to a lawyer and activists who have been in touch with him, authorities in Qatar have granted him 24 hours to find another country willing to accept him.

The situation is particularly dire because of the arbitrary internment of hundreds of thousands to more than a million Uighurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, a region in western China. Uighurs — particularly those who have traveled or lived in Muslim countries — have been particular targets for detention, and there are many reports of Uighurs being detained as soon as they arrive at airports in China from overseas.

The internment program has drawn widespread international condemnation. Chinese officials said last week the government has released a majority of detainees but has produced scant evidence to back up this claim.

Yusuf's case gained attention after he posted a cellphone video pleading for assistance.