President U Thein Sein sued in US over alleged Rohingya abuse

03 October 2015
President U Thein Sein sued in US over alleged Rohingya abuse
Myanmar President U Thein Sein is facing a court case in the US over alleged involvement in abuse of Rohingya Muslims. Photo: Lynn Bo Bo/EPA

Muslim rights activists have filed a lawsuit in the United States against President U Thein Sein, accusing him and several ministers of human rights abuses against minority Muslim Rohingya, just a few weeks before an historic general election, reports Reuters on October 2.
Reuters reports the complaint was filed on Thursday in Manhattan federal court, accusing Thein Sein and top officials of planning and instigating "hate crimes and discrimination amounting to genocide."
According to the plaintiffs, Muslim Rohingya are "subjected to genocide, torture, arbitrary detention, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" by officials controlled by Thein Sein and his ministers.
According to the report, the civil lawsuit was filed by Burma Task Force, a group of 19 Muslim organizations, and the Rohingya man Hitay Lwin Oo.
It seeks compensatory and punitive damages for alleged violations of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), a US law often invoked in lawsuits alleging human rights abuses.