Military Council Jails Over 300 Rohingya In Irrawaddy Region
By Network Media Group
Thursday, July 20, 2023
The Military Council has sentenced over 300 Rohingya, including women and children, who were arrested in Irrawaddy Region within 6 months.
“They’re Myanmar nationals who left Rakhine State to seek job opportunities,” an anonymous member of Irrawaddy Myanmar – Muslim Network said. “They have lost their citizenship and have been stripped of basic human rights.”
Many of them were detained at sea when trying to flee the country to seek employment in Malaysia after paying human traffickers, the man said. Some people were killed after their motorboat sank in the sea or were shot dead while traveling in Kyan Khin Township in the Irrawaddy Region.
A Muslim youth requesting anonymity pointed out that under the previous NLD government, Rohingya individuals were sent back to their village when arrested, not to jail.
Between 1 January 1 and 30 June the regime arrested 457 people and convicted 325 with Article 6 (3) of Burma’s Immigration Act, he said, with some receiving 2 to 5 years of prison sentences. Minors were sent to the Youth Rehabilitation Centre.
“Authorities also seized money and phones from detainees and didn’t return them.”
The Rohingya are from Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Sittwe, Kyi Kan Pyin, and remote villages and displacement camps in Rakhine State, while some were returning from Bangladesh.
A source close to officials from the Department of Justice in the region said about 700 people were arrested in 2022, and many of them were sentenced to jail.
The Irrawaddy Region shares both land and water borders with Rakhine State. Many left the state, specifically passing through townships like Pathein, Chaungthar, Shwethaungyan, Ngayokaung, Hainggyi, Ngapudaw, Bogale, Myaungmya, Wakema, Yegyi, Kyangin, and Thabaung.
