Burma: Police arrest and torture man for writing to BBC

A man was arrested and fined money by the police on December 2, for writing a letter to the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) about the sufferings of Rohingya tribe of Arakan State, a relative of the victim said.

The victim was identified as Hajee Amir Hakim (52), son of Mogul Ahmed, and hailed from Tha Yet Pyin village of Buthidaung Township in Arakan State, Burma.

In November, Haji Mogul Ahmed had sent a letter to the BBC through the post office of Buthidaung Town of Arakan State, Burma. In the letter, he described that the Rohingyas are provided with White NRC (National Registration Cards) by the ruling junta forcibly, which prohibited the Rohingyas from citizenship. However, the Rakhines get Red NRC Cards, which recognizes them as citizens of Burma. The Nasaka collects the cattle list of Rohingya people to harass them and also imposes marriage restrictions, bars them from construction of new houses and mosques and imposes more restrictions on movements against the Rohingya people, he wrote in the letter.

Unfortunately, on November 28, 2007, the letter was found by a Nasaka agent named Iliyas, the ex-secretary of Buthidaung town at the post office and then handed over to the Police Station of Buthidaung, according to a close aide of the police.

On December 2, a group of police personnel numbering 7 went to Thayet Pyin village and arrested Haji Amir Hakim and brought him to Buthidaung police station. Police officers asked him by showing his letter why he had sent the letter to the BBC. He said, without fear, that the military government had been persecuting the people of Arakan, so badly, that he had written the letter to inform the world about the suffering of the Rohingya people, a village elder said.

The police officer also told him, "You have committed a crime. So, you decide for yourself what kind of punishment you deserve to get." Hakim replied, "Punish me as much as ex-Prime Minister Khin Nyunt."

He further said, "I have travelled many countries, but I have never been in a country………. that country's name is Burmese jail. Hearing this, the police officer severely tortured him and asked him to pay Kyat 200,000 for his release. He promptly refused to pay such money as he was not able to get such a big amount for bribing. However, he was released on December 3 by his relatives after paying some money to the police officer, according to the victim's family.

Courtesy of Kaladan Press Network