Some 70 more people on trial for trying to leave Myanmar

28 February 2020
Some 70 more people on trial for trying to leave Myanmar
(File) Rohingya people who were arrested at sea in December walk on a beach after being transported by Myanmar authorities to Thalchaung near Sittwe in Rakhine state on January 13, 2020. Photo: AFP

A court in Myanmar’s Yangon region began hearing testimony Thursday in a case against roughly 70 Rohingya Muslims arrested a week ago for attempting to flee the country illegally for Malaysia, RFA reported.

The group, which includes children, are being charged with violating Myanmar’s nationality laws because Rohingya, who are not one of Myanmar’s official ethnic groups, are barred from travelling without permission and because the members of the group did not have identification cards, said their attorney Thazin Myat Myat Win.

Myanmar’s constitution requires Myanmar residents to carry some kind of registration card whenever they travel.