Twenty Myanmar citizens who were among the 208 boatpeople rescued by the Myanmar authorities off the coast of Maungdaw Township in Rakhine State on May 21 are being prosecuted for human trafficking offences, reports Burma News International on May 28.
“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 told BNI.
Of the 20 people, 12 are from the Tanintharyi region, one is from the Yangon region, two are from the Ayarawaddy Region and five are said to be Rohingya from Rakhine State.
U Aung Kyaw Nyunt told BNI: “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 arrests come as the governments of the region seek to tackle a crisis at sea, with thousands of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh adrift following a crackdown on the human trafficking trade by Thailand.