Karen region: On 12 October (Wednesday) ‘The Myanmar Now (MN)’ reported that a total of 150 Rohingya men and women imprisoned in Taung Lay prison in Baan township of Karen state are suffering from lack of food and medical care.
The report said that those 150 Rohingyas were arrested while travelling from the camps of Rakhine state to other countries by using land and waterway.
The report also said that among the Rohingyas in Baan prison, there are more than 100 men, and they are youths between the ages of 18 and 30. It is reported that Rohingya men live in No. 2 and No. 5 in Baan Prison, which has 5 dormitories, while around 50 women are kept in the women’s dormitory known as May.
Those who were released from the prison said that they are now facing many problems due to lack of food and health care inside the prison.
The MN cited two prisoners who were released after two years imprisonment said that the Rohingyas incarcerated in Taung Lay prison are suffering much from lack of food and medication. In addition they have no contacts with their families as Karen state is 500 miles far from Rakhine state.
“The Rohingya prisoners’ health problems are being ignored by prison authority,” a released prisoner said and added that the Rohingyas, who are religiously minded about their food, are forced to eat rice and water only at least three days a week in Baan prison.
“I saw that they picked the leaves and boiled them for drinking. Extra rare clothes, as there is no one to send soap, they are suffering from itching all over the body, but the prison authorities are not giving medical treatment”, a released prisoner said.
“Looking at them makes me unhappy. I don’t know what leaves are in the prison. The leaves, which I have never seen before, are boiled in hot water and then mixed with rice to eat,” said a 30-year-old ex-prisoner who spent more than 9 months in Baran Prison.
“I feel sad watching them eat. 50 When I got 100 tons of small paste bottles, some even shed tears when I gave those to them. If it’s a curry in prison, it’s salt. What they mainly want is salt and chili. But many people don’t get it,” he added.
Another man who lives in Karen State and was released from Baan Prison early this month said that the situation Rohingyas are facing in prison is deplorable.
Those Rohingyas have been sentenced from 6 months to 2 years in prison and have been released. The Rohingyas who were caught again are continuously being sent to Baan prison. Two former prisoners said that they came again in two trucks at the beginning of this month.
Since 2012, the attacks in Rakhine state have left them homeless, and they have been living in refugee camps created by the authorities for years. Education and economic rights and even their civil rights have been blocked.
They are not allowed to travel anywhere. Ultimately in search of better life the Rohingya fled to Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines through refugee camps. They are often arrested when they try to go to Malaysia.
Since the 1962 military dictatorship, the Rohingya have been considered undocumented by Myanmar authorities. The right to travel through Rakhine State is banned, and those who are found traveling are often arrested and prosecuted under the Immigration (Lawaka) law.
Regarding the above cases, details and specifics cannot be confirmed yet.
In Myanmar, the Rohingya have faced severe oppression for many years, and in 2017, hundreds of thousands of them had to flee to the Rakhine border with Bangladesh due to the genocidal operation of Myanmar troops.
As the world considers the process as genocide, the Gambia has filed a lawsuit at the International Criminal Court (ICJ), and the military leaders of the coup are facing trial.
Military leaders massacre the Rohingya ethnic group in Rakhine state. They have consistently denied allegations of oppressing the Rohingya. However, in some ceremonies and meetings, the military officials often speak in a double tone about the operation to clear the area in Rakhine State, the report said.
