Rohingya should not have been detained in the first place, says group

PETALING JAYA: Rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) has blamed the government for the deaths of fleeing Rohingya detainees and questioned why they were detained in the first place.

Following yesterday’s breakout from a detention centre in Kedah, LFL chief coordinator Zaid Malek also called for the release of all other refugees and asylum seekers from such centres to avoid calamity from happening again.

“The blood of the Rohingya who died while on the run, who included at least two children, is on the government’s hands,” he said in a statement.

Six of the 528 Rohingya detainees who fled from the immigration detention centre died in a road accident while making their escape.

Zaid said there was no reason to cram refugees in makeshift detention centres because they could not be deported due to the principle of “non-refoulment”.

“This principle, which prohibits individuals from being returned to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and punishment, makes it impossible for the Rohingya to be sent back to their country … unless the government wishes to run afoul of international law,” he said.

He said that under the Immigration Act 1959/63, detainees could only be kept for a period “necessary to make arrangements for their removal”.

“The law does not allow for indefinite detention at immigration depots, as would be the case for the Rohingya.

“Having been elected to the United Nations Humans Rights Council (HRC), Malaysia should have complied with international norms and standards,” he said. — Free Malaysia Today