Buthidaung, Arakan State: A special court of Buthidaung released some Rohingyas from Buthidaung jail on July 1 who were arrested by army in violence at 2012, according to Halim, a Human Rights watchdog from Maungdaw. “They were arrested from the different villages by army and riot police during the violence between Rakhine and Rohingya community in Maungdaw Township.”
According to Halim,the government released twenty-six Rohingya prisoners from Khonza Bill ( Kan Hpoo) village, one-prisoner of Gawyah Khali village, one-prisoner from Oo daung village, 16-prisoner from Warrcha (Saung Mona) and 18-prisoner from Shilkhali (Kyauk Chang) village of Maungdaw south.
After the riots on June 8, 2012, the army, police, Hluntin (riot police), Nasaka (Burma Border Security Force) accompanied by Rakhine goons arrested many Rohingyas from different villages and sent to Buthidaung jail. But, the special court of Buthidaung arbitrary sentenced many Rohingyas 5 to 20 years of imprisonment without any proper inquiry at that time, Johar, a school teacher from Buthidaung said.
When asked a released prisoner, he said that many Rohingyas have been languishing in Buthidaung jail with miserable condition. During the interview, he didn’t want to express more because of security reason.
He also said that if any media writes against the government, the concerned authorities of jail pressure and torture the Rohingya prisoners inside the jail.
However, the released prisoners applied to concerned authorities to be listed in their family lists but the authorities demand money, according to sources.
