India Urged to Release Detained Myanmar Asylum Seekers

New York: Indian authorities should immediately free all detained Myanmar asylum seekers, Human Rights Watch  (HRW) said today. 
 
According to HRW, The authorities should also investigate the deaths of two women who had fled Myanmar and died in custody in Manipur state from Covid-19 in June 2021.
 
Since Myanmar’s military coup on February 1, tens of thousands of Myanmar nationals have fled the country to escape the violent crackdown. 

Approximately 16,000 Myanmar nationals have crossed into India in the four bordering states – Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh, the media have reported. 
 
Those fleeing include parliament members, civil servants, military and police officials, and civil society and human rights activists. Most are in hiding, afraid of being arrested.
 
"People from Myanmar fleeing threats to their lives and liberty should be offered a safe haven in India, not detained and deprived of their rights," said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at HRW, in a press release on Wednesday. 
 
"The Indian government should uphold its international legal obligations and work with the UN refugee agency to ensure prompt access to international protection mechanisms," Ganguly stated.
 
In June, two women from Myanmar, Ma Myint, 46, and Mukhai, 40, died from Covid-19 in a district hospital in Manipur state.Ma Myint and Mukhai were among 29 Myanmar nationals arrested on March 31 under the Foreigners Act for entering the country without valid travel documents.  They were later placed in judicial custody by the district court. 
 
On July 2, the Manipur-based group Human Rights Alert wrote to the state human rights commission alleging that government officials were not providing immigration detainees with food and adequate health care, and that detainees were dependent on the charity of local civil society groups for food. Ma Myint and Mukhai were only taken to a hospital once their illness was critical, according to Human Rights Alert and both died within three days of being admitted. 
At least 13 other asylum seekers also contracted Covid-19 in detention in Manipur.
 
Since February, the Myanmar junta and security forces have responded with increasing violence and repression to the nationwide anti-coup movement. 
 
Security forces have killed over 920 people and arbitrarily detained an estimated 5,300 activists, journalists, civil servants, and politicians. 
 
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