Junta navy catches 62 Muslims from Rakhine in Irrawaddy offshore

The Burmese junta navy has captured 62 Muslims from Rakhine State on a boat in the offshore of Irrawaddy delta’s Ngaputaw township on 5 May.

The military vessel from Hai Gyi Kyun naval station under the military council  intercepted the boat, which was driven into the sea water near Hai Gyi island.

A young local Muslim informed that among the detainees there are some minors.

Along with the passengers, the boatmen were also arrested by the junta forces.

The phone sets and money, possessed by them, were also confiscated.

According to the local youth there are 50 men and 12 women in the group.

They were brought to Ngaputaw town and put in a garage of the town's water plant factory.

The immigration and people’s power department along with the police are investigating the case.
The city-based Muslim organizations provided food items and other social assistance to the detainees.

A member of the Myanmar Muslim Friendship Network claimed that they were living in rural areas under the townships of Buthidaung and Maungdaw in Rakhine State.  They  left their places to survive as it was difficult to live in the Rakhine region.

On 19 April, more than 70 Muslims, who left the refugee camps of Rakhine State, were arrested  by the Burmese forces from the sea near Nga Yoke Kaung village under Ngaputaw township in Irrawaddy division.

Those 70  people were probed by the immigration and people’s power department under section 63-A of the Civil Registration Act. Later the Ngaputaw township court on 25 April sentenced them to two years in prison.