Narinjara News

Burmese prisoners completing jail term in Bangladesh to be deported

Dhaka, Feb 26: 289 releases prisoner (RPs) of Burma origin have been languishing in Cox’sBazar district jail for a long time though their conviction periods have been over six to seven years ago, according to local sources.

In Bangladesh, there are 730 foreign prisoners, some of whom have already completed their conviction period about 10 years ago.

Some of them had to remain in jail even for more than 10 years’ without any reason’, an official from Bangladesh said, adding that most are Burmese nationals.

The number of under-trial prisoners of Burmese nationals in Cox’s Bazar jail is 101, including three females.

Bangladesh officials of the Ministry of Home affairs are sitting at a meeting today (Thursday) to thrash out a workable plan to send back those prisoners as they financial burden of Bangladesh.

Bangladesh government budget is not sufficient to provide them all necessary things except only food. Thus Bangladesh government will take necessary measures to send all of foreign prisoners back to their countries as early as possible, the official added.

But a number of Burmese prisoners do not want to be released and deported to Burma due to fear of persecution by Nasaka, the Burma border security force, after deportation. Even the released prisoners are not willing to be ‘ pushed backed’ for the same reason.

Most of the Burmese prisoners in Cox’s Bazar jail hail from northern Arakan state of Burma dominated by ethnic Muslims. People from Arakan state flee the area and intrude into Bangladesh illegally due to fragile socio-economic and alleged political causes like forced labour, persecution, torture, violence against women, restriction on free movement, lack of opportunity for employment and medical facilities, said a local human rights activist of Cox’s Bazar.

He added that the condition of the detained prisoners from Burma is very miserable.

The number of convicted person of Burma nationality in Cox’s bazaar jail is 289 of whom seven have been recognized as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR), it is learnt #