By Hafizur Rahman
Pauktaw, Rakhine State — July 30, 2025
A 35-year-old Rohingya man was reportedly tortured to death in Arakan Army (AA) custody in Pauktaw Township, with his body later dumped near a stream close to his displacement camp, according to multiple local sources.
The victim, identified as Shuna Miya, son of Nazir, was a resident of Nget Chaung (2) Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp in Pauktaw. He was apprehended by AA personnel on July 15 under suspicion of theft and detained at the AA’s local office in Gandi village, Ale Kyun group.
Community sources said there was no concrete evidence of wrongdoing. “He didn’t steal anything,” said one resident. “They just suspected him and took him for questioning. He was severely beaten in custody—so badly that he died. Then they dumped his body beside the stream, near the camp.”
On July 27, an AA officer reportedly phoned the Nget Chaung camp leader, instructing him to “come and take the detainee.” But the very next day, the same officer claimed that Shuna Miya had “escaped” from detention. This conflicting narrative raised alarm among residents.
At approximately 7:30 a.m. on July 29, his lifeless body was discovered near Kansate Rakhine village, by the stream close to the port entrance near Nget Chaung Camp.
As of the filing of this report, the body remains unburied. Community leaders said they are awaiting permission from the AA to proceed with the burial. Several of them had gone to the AA officer to report the killing and request clearance but had not returned, leaving the family and camp residents in distress.
This incident marks another disturbing case of arbitrary arrest, custodial torture, and extrajudicial killing of Rohingya civilians by the Arakan Army—part of a growing pattern of violence since the escalation of conflict in northern Rakhine State in late 2023.
Rights groups and local monitors have repeatedly warned that AA forces are increasingly targeting Rohingya civilians with impunity, often detaining them without legal process and subjecting them to severe abuse.
Camp residents and community elders are now urging humanitarian organizations and international actors to intervene and ensure accountability for the killing, as well as the safe and dignified burial of the deceased.
