Twenty Burmese citizens who were among the 208 boatpeople rescued by the Burmese authorities off the coast of Maungdaw Township in Arakan State on 21 May are being prosecuted for human trafficking offences.
“They are being prosecuted under sections 367 and 371, sections which cover slave trading cases,” said U Aung Kyaw Nyunt, a high-court lawyer from Maungdaw District Court.
Of the 20 people, 12 are from the Tanintharyi region, one is from the Yangon region, two are from the Irrawaddy region and five are Rohingyas from Arakan State.
U Aung Kyaw Nyunt said: “They have been held on remand for 15 days. Now they have been taken to the headquarters of the Border Operations Command in Kyeekan-Pyin and they are being questioned there. Maungdaw Township Court will handle the case.
The Burmese navy apprehended the suspects on two boats. 11 of the suspects were on the first boat, along with 208 boat people. The other nine suspects were arrested on another boat that held no boatpeople.
Both boats were apprehended in Burmese territorial waters about four miles off the coast from Maungdaw Township on 21 May.
Translated by Aung Myat Soe English version written by Mark Inkey for BNI
