Maungdaw, Arakan State: The majority of the judgments of Maungdaw Law Court come from Burma Border Security Force’s (Nasaka) head office, U Khin Zaw, a Maungdaw Magistrate, told local lawyers.
“We just read the judgments which come to us from the Nasaka head office in the court after hearing the cases.”
The statement came out after judges heard the case of a young Rohingya (Syed Ali, son of Ali Akbar, who hails from Block No. 2) in which all the witnesses and medical reports favored him, but the court sentenced him to five years and six months in prison on December 23, said a lawyer from Maungdaw Law Court.
The false case of communicating with a young girl was filed against Syed Ali by a block administration officer with Nasaka personnel. The Rohingya community in Maungdaw is not allowed to meet or communicate with girls, as according to the authorities, it is a crime.
“The authorities accused him with allegations of meeting with a girl at night, and filed a case. The court sentenced him to five-and-a-half years in jail.”
“However, the judgment had come to the court from the Nasaka head office to be read in public after the case was heard,” said an officer from the court.
“We were just sitting in the court, and the judgment came from the Nasaka head office to the concerned authorities who read it in the court room.”
The authorities mentioned that it is a crime for young men and women to meet and talk together. This law appears to contradict article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
