More than 110 Rohingya refugees, including children, have been detained by Myanmar authorities for traveling “without legal documentation” as they attempted to reach Malaysia, according to state media on Friday.
According to the Global New Light of Myanmar, a total of 112 people, including 12 minors, were detained in the southeast township of Bogale, and 35 of them received five-year prison sentences.
The report gave no date for the arrests, but local media quoted police sources as saying they happened on the morning of December 20. The report referred to the group as the derogatory “Bengalis.”
Members of the largely Muslim minority population, who are considered as foreign invaders from Bangladesh, frequently need permission to travel and are refused citizenship as well as access to healthcare and education.
According to the Global New Light, 13 of the group’s under-18 members would be held at a “training school” until they were 20 when a local court sentenced 35 of the group to five years in prison for traveling without documentation.
Each year, thousands of Rohingya put their lives in danger as they attempt to go to Malaysia or Indonesia.
With terrifying tales of murder, rape, and burning, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled into Bangladesh during a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017.
Following the enormous flight, Myanmar is being accused of committing genocide in the top court of the United Nations.
On December 5, thirteen Rohingyas were discovered dead on the side of the road in Hlegu, a town close to Yangon’s commercial center.
Later, 12 alleged members of a human trafficking group connected to the fatalities were detained by Myanmar authorities.
The group had reportedly been traveling inside an oil tanker connected to the gang, according to a Rohingya source and local media.
