Malaysian authorities release 18 including Arakanese migrant aid workers; teenage girl still detained

By DMG 28 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
28 October 2022, Sittwe 

Eighteen people who were detained by Malaysian authorities during a raid on the office of the Arakan Refugee Relief Committee (ARRC) in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month have been released. A 16-year-old girl, however, remains detained. 

Nineteen people including ARRC staffers and Arakanese migrant workers who were applying for United Nations cards allowing them to stay in the country were detained by plainclothes police officers on October 12. 

Of the detainees, 11 UN cardholders were released from a local police station on Wednesday and seven others were released from a court in Kuala Lumpur the following day, according to Ko Than Win, a staff member at the ARRC office. 

“The UN agency went to the police and presented proof for UN card holders. Those who do not have a card were brought to the court, and the UN office also testified at the court for them. So, they were released,” he said. 

The 16-year-old is still being detained because she does not have a UN card, said Ko Than Win. 

“I feel sorry that we could not get all of them released. She was detained while waiting for documents to apply for UN cards. We have phoned the UN office to get her UN card. She might be released in the next 11 days,” he added. 

All detained ARRC staff have been released, but the office will remain closed for the time being as they are given time to recuperate from their ordeal behind bars, Ko Than Win said.