Myanmar jails more than 100 Rohingya for travelling 'without documents'

FRANCH 24

Text by: NEWS WIRES
10/01/2023

In this photograph taken in Indonesia, Rohingya refugees arrive at a beach in Gampong Baro village, Aceh Besar, Aceh province on January 8, 2023. © Khalis Surry/Antara Foto via Reuters

Myanmar authorities have sentenced 112 Rohingya, including a dozen children, to between two and five years in prison for attempting to travel to Malaysia "without legal documents", state media reported Tuesday.

The group were arrested last month in the southern Ayeyarwady region and sentenced on January 6, according to a report by the Global New Light of Myanmar, which cited local police.

The children were transferred to a "youth training school" near commercial hub Yangon on January 8, the newspaper reported, without giving further details.

Myanmar jails 112 Rohingya who tried to leave country

Aljazeera
10 Jan 2023

The UN refugee agency says the number of dangerous boat journeys attempted by the Rohingya rose sixfold in 2022 [File: Amanda Jufrian/AFP]

Myanmar has jailed 112 people, including 12 children, from the minority Rohingya after they were caught attempting to leave the country.

The court in Bogale in the southern Ayeyarwady region of Myanmar sentenced the group on January 6, the state-run Global New Light of Myanmar reported on Tuesday, citing local police.