Myanmar’s former de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was sentenced to five years in jail for corruption charges; she faces additional charges that could together lead to a prison sentence of more than one hundred years (Agence France-Presse)
Hundreds of Rohingya Attempt to Flee Malaysian Detention Center
More than five hundred Rohingya refugees escaped a Malaysian detention center following a protest; six died in the attempt and more than three hundred were rearrested (Associated Press)
Facebook Fails to Detect Hate Speech Against Rohingya Muslims
A human rights group found that Facebook still fails to detect hate speech and calls to violence against the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, following UN findings that Facebook played a significant role in facilitating conflict and violence (Diplomat)
ASEAN Envoy Starts Mediation Meetings in Myanmar
Prak Sokhonn, Cambodia’s foreign minister and an envoy from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), begins a series of meetings with Myanmar’s junta today in hopes of facilitating a peace process the generals agreed to last year (Reuters)
UN: Violence Following Myanmar’s Coup Could Be Crimes Against Humanity
A new UN report alleges that Myanmar’s military and security forces committed crimes such as mass killings, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, and torture against the public following the February 2021 coup (UN News)
Sixth Fire in Rohingya Refugee Camp This Year Leaves 2,000 Homeless
A fire swept through Kutupalong camp in Bangladesh, killing a six-year-old boy and leaving 2,000 people homeless; it was the sixth fire in Cox’s Bazar this year (Reuters)
Rohingya Refugees Reach Indonesia’s Aceh Province
More than one hundred Rohingya refugees from Myanmar arrived by boat in Indonesia, which is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and is usually seen as a transit country (Reuters)
Myanmar Junta and Ousted Government Vie for Recognition in Rohingya Legal Case
Myanmar’s military junta is scheduled to take part in International Court of Justice (ICJ) proceedings, despite objections from Myanmar’s exiled National Unity Government who argue it could grant the junta international recognition without legal standing (Reuters)
Rohingya Refugees Moved to Bhasan Char
Bangladesh moved another 1,655 Rohingya refugees from different camps in Cox’s Bazar to the island settlement of Bhasan Char, bringing the total number of refugees there to 22,597 (The Business Standard)
Myanmar’s Shadow Government Drops Objections to Genocide Inquiry
Myanmar’s shadow government, a parallel administration including deposed lawmakers in exile, dropped objections to the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) Rohingya genocide case (Reuters)
ASEAN Meeting Postponed Due to Discord Over Myanmar Crisis
This week’s meeting of ministers from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries was pushed back amid disagreement on how to deal with Myanmar’s military junta (Al Jazeera)
Indonesia Agrees to Accept Rohingya Refugees
The country said it will accept a boat carrying Rohingya refugees after its previous plan to tow the boat into Malaysian waters was criticized (Agence France-Presse)
UN Condemns Reported Deadly Attack in Myanmar
At least thirty-five civilians were reportedly killed in an attack in the country’s east. A monitoring group and local media said military troops were responsible (Al Jazeera)
Fighting in Myanmar Forces Thousands to Flee to Thailand
More than 4,200 people have fled across the border in the past week due to clashes between government forces and guerrilla fighters from the Karen ethnic group, a Thai army official said (Associated Press)
Authorities Destroy Rohingya Shops in Cox’s Bazar
Bangladeshi authorities demolished around one thousand shops belonging to Rohingya refugees in several camps in Cox’s Bazar, an official said. He called the shops “illegal” and said they would be replaced with shelters for refugees (Agence France-Presse)
Myanmar Military Forces Burn Civilians
Troops burned eleven civilians alive in apparent retaliation for an attack on a military convoy, according to reports (Associated Press)
Rohingya Refugees Sue Facebook for More Than $150 Billion, Alleging Role in Genocide
A Rohingya woman in the U.S. state of Illinois filed a class-action lawsuit against Facebook’s parent company, Meta, saying it failed to quickly stop the spread of hate speech and misinformation that contributed to the alleged genocide of Rohingya in Myanmar in 2017 (Washington Post)
Deposed Myanmar Leader Handed Prison Sentence in Closed-Door Trial
A Myanmar court sentenced deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in prison on charges of incitement and breaching coronavirus restrictions. Since Myanmar’s February military coup, which ousted Suu Kyi from her role as the country’s de facto leader, Suu Kyi has been held incommunicado (Reuters)
Meanwhile, the military has violently cracked down on pro-democracy demonstrators and arrested thousands of people (CNN)
Human rights organizations as well as the European Union, Japan, the United Kingdom, and other countries condemned the verdict. Two other leaders from Suu Kyi’s party were sentenced to two and four years, and Suu Kyi faces further charges that could lead to prison sentences of more than one hundred years total (Washington Post)
American Journalist Released From Prison in Myanmar`
American journalist Danny Fenster was released from a Myanmar jail and will fly back to the United States following a diplomatic push by former U.S. Ambassador Bill Richardson (New York Times)
Myanmar Military Court Sentences U.S. Journalist to Eleven Years in Prison
Danny Fenster, who had been working for the local publication Frontier Myanmar, was sentenced on charges of unlawful association, incitement against the military, and visa violations, his lawyer said (Agence France-Presse)
Gang Violence Escalates in Rohingya Refugee Settlements in Bangladesh
At least six people were killed and twenty were wounded in an attack at a Rohingya camp on Friday in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh (Deutsche Welle)
Seven People Killed at Rohingya Refugee Camp
Attackers killed seven people in a shooting and stabbing attack at an Islamic seminary in a Rohingya refugee camp (Agence France-Presse)
Bangladesh to Relocate 81,000 Rohingya Refugees
A Bangladeshi official announced that Bangladesh will relocate 81,000 Rohingya refugees with assistance from the United Nations to an island in the Bay of Bengal, but rights groups have raised concern about possible human rights abuses (Agence-France Presse)
Mohib Ullah, Prominent Rohingya Muslim Leader, Shot Dead in Bangladesh
Mohib Ullah, a prominent Rohingya Muslim community leader, was shot and killed by unidentified gunmen yesterday at a refugee camp in Bangladesh (Washington Post)
U.S. Judge Orders Facebook to Release Records of Accounts Linked to Anti-Rohingya Violence
Siding with the government of Gambia, a U.S. federal judge ordered Facebook to turn over the records of closed accounts linked to violence against Rohingya Muslims (Reuters)