“They were severely tortured and kept in Buthidaung jail without inadequate food and other facilities after being arrested,” Halim said.

The human rights observer told Kaladanpress that the arrestees were initially picked up after their names appeared on a warrant list issued by Maungdaw court compiled under the direction of police and township and district administration clerks.

A 23-page document drafted by UN’s Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana found that in Buthidaung prison both men and boys “were allegedly arbitrarily detained” and “subjected to three months of torture and ill treatment by prison guards and up to 20 prison inmates, who appear to have been brought into the prison for the specific purpose of administering beatings to Muslim prisoners.

The report was produced following Quintana’s 10 day trip to Burma in August.

Quintana heard allegations “that a large number of prisoners in Buthidaung prison, including children, older persons and the sick, were transferred from the prison to other locations in Maungdaw township just before his visit”.

The  Special Rapporteur “reiterates the importance of independent monitoring mechanisms that have regular access to all places of detention, including through unannounced visits, in addition to a mandate to make recommendations to the prison authorities on improving the treatment and conditions of persons in detention”.

The convicted Rohingya were being held for months without trial. Following the UN report, which was rejected by Burma’s Human Rights Commission, state authorities convicted them, said Mohamed Anoo (not his real name), a teacher from Maungdaw.

Sixty-eight men were received five year prison terms and one female from Bomu village was sentenced to two years, Anoo said.

Most were from Maungdaw township (Maungni, Myoma Kyandan and Shwezar villages),according to Anoo. The same day they were sentenced the courts released five others.

The government has made the Rohingya community pay the brunt for the unrest that displaced at least 140,000. Yet the sectarian violence that broke in June and October of 2012 affected more Muslims more than Buddhists.

Since last year many have been locked in their villages or squalid camps with their movements severely restricted. An emergency act in effect since last year outlaws the gathering of more than five persons, yet largely has been applied to the Rohingya community.

According to official government data 1189 people have been detained by authorities. Out of this only 260 were Buddhist Rakhines.