New Delhi: India on Thursday deported seven Rohingya Muslims, who have been staying in Assam, to their country of origin Myanmar, in a first such move with regard to the people from the Rakhine province of Myanmar.
The men had been detained since 2012 for immigration violations. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court refused to step in to stop their deportation, notes a report by BBC.
Images used for representational purpose only | Source: United Sikhs
The Supreme Court allowed their deportation to Myanmar saying they were found by the competent court as illegal immigrants and have been accepted by their country of origin as citizens.
“Having considered the prayer, we would not like to interfere with the decision taken. The petition is dismissed,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph said.
As per reports at least 700,000 Rohingya have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh to escape violence in Myanmar in the past year.
UN officials have accused Myanmar’s military of ethnic cleansing. The Senate of Canada has condemned the violence against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar as ‘genocide’.
The UN special rapporteur on racism, Tendayi Achiume, said India risked breaching its international legal obligations by returning the men to possible harm.