Myanmar Jails 112 Rohingya

Facts

• Myanmar's state media reported on Tuesday that a court in the southern city of Bogale sentenced 112 Rohingya to jail, including a dozen children, for traveling 'without any official documents.'¹
• While the adults received five-year prison sentences, five children under 13 were sentenced to two years in jail, and seven children above 13 were given a three-year prison term.²
• The children were reportedly transferred to a 'youth training school' near commercial hub Yangon on Jan. 8, two days after sentences were delivered, but no further details were given.³
• This comes after the group, comprised of people that reportedly left refugee camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar's Rakhine State, was arrested on Dec. 20 as they were reportedly waiting near an island off Bogale for other boats to take them to shore, from where they would have set sail for Malaysia.⁴
• The risky journey from refugee camps in Bangladesh and Myanmar to reach Muslim-majority Indonesia and Malaysia is believed to have been taken last year by more than 2k Rohingya, who are denied citizenship in Myanmar and often require permission to travel.⁵
• Over 700k Rohingya reportedly fled Myanmar to Bangladesh following the 2017 military crackdown and allegedly face dire conditions in refugee camps. Those still in Myanmar are in the middle of fighting between the military junta and the Arakan Army, a militant group based in the Rakhine state.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²Independent, ³France24, ⁴Radio free asia, ⁵Mizzima and ⁶Guardian.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Rohingya khobor. This is the latest example of the endless injustice and brutality to which the Rohingya have been subjected by Myanmar's government in recent years, which includes human rights abuses, unfair imprisonment, and inhumane detention camps.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Gnlm. This action was fully lawful and taken in accordance with Myanmar's legally binding regulations. As the 112 undocumented Bengalis entered the country illegally via motorboat, they were, in turn, duly arrested.