Over a hundred Rohingya refugees, including women and children, have been on hunger strike since Monday at the Matia Transit Camp in the northeastern Indian state of Assam. Their protest is against being held in detention, despite some having completed their prison terms, according to Indian authorities, as reported by Reuters.
Among the hunger strikers are 103 Rohingya refugees and 30 refugees from Myanmar’s Chin community, some of whom possess UNHCR-issued refugee cards, a Rohingya source in contact with the protestors informed Reuters. Matia Transit Camp is India’s largest detention facility for illegal immigrants, and the protesters are calling for their release, arguing that they are being wrongfully held.
Many of the Rohingya have completed their terms of detention but remain imprisoned. Notably, 36 of them are UNHCR cardholders, which grants them international recognition as refugees. Despite this, they have not been released.
According to the source, the conditions at Matia Transit Camp are poor, and detainees are not permitted to meet with their families. The hunger strikers are demanding that they be handed over to the UNHCR and allowed to seek resettlement in a third country. They have also submitted a formal letter to the Assam government outlining their requests.
Ravi Kota, a senior official in Assam, confirmed that the protesters have called for their release. In response, state officials have been dispatched to the camp to investigate the situation. “A report will be prepared once all aspects of the situation are understood,” Kota said. He added that not all detainees have been held under the same court orders, and the authorities are working to review the legal circumstances and charges brought against them.
