Arakan News Agency | Exclusive
The body of a Rohingya man named “Sho Namiya” (35 years old) was found on Tuesday in the city of Pauktaw in Arakan State, western Myanmar, nearly two weeks after he was detained by the Arakan Army on charges of theft.
Local sources told the “Arakan News Agency” that the Arakan Army arrested “Sho Namiya” on July 15 from the “Nga Chaung 2” displacement camp, after being accused of theft by an individual, and he was transferred to an army facility in the village of “Gondi” in the “Ali Kyun” area.
Camp leaders reported that an Arakan Army official later contacted them to inform them that “Sho Namiya” could not be detained solely on suspicion, and requested that they come to retrieve him, before later returning on July 28 to inform them that the detainee had escaped from the detention center.
The next morning, his body was found near a waterway, according to eyewitnesses, but the body has not yet been moved due to not being granted permission from the Arakan Army, despite camp leaders requesting to be allowed to bury it.
A local resident mentioned that “Sho Namiya” was not a thief and died as a result of being tortured in custody, and after his death, Arakan Army members threw his body on the riverbank near the camp.
Thousands of Rohingya live in Pauktaw within displacement camps under strict control by the Arakan Army, which imposes severe restrictions on their movements since gaining control of large parts of Arakan State.
The Arakan Army controls the majority of Arakan State after launching a military campaign in November 2023 against the Myanmar Army, during which it succeeded in controlling 14 out of 17 towns. This conflict has affected the Rohingya, who have been subjected to violence, forced displacement, and persecution by both sides, following a “genocide” campaign by the Myanmar Army in 2017 that forced nearly a million of them to flee to Bangladesh.
