Allegations of India Forcibly Returning Rohingya Refugees to Myanmar Raise Human Rights Concerns

Noorul Amin last spoke to his brother on 9 May. The call was brief, but the news was devastating. He learned that his brother, Kairul, and four other relatives were among 40 Rohingya refugees allegedly deported by the Indian government to Myanmar, a country they had fled in fear years ago.

Myanmar is presently embroiled in a brutal civil war following the military coup in 2021, increasing the perilous circumstances for those forcibly returned. I could not process the torment that my parents and the others who were taken are facing, Mr. Amin, 24, reported from Delhi.

After their removal from India, the refugees managed to contact the BBC from Myanmar, where they expressed feeling unsafe. This place is a complete war zone, Soyed Noor said, describing his surroundings from a wooden shelter while speaking with a BHA member's phone.

Reports indicate that the group was coerced onto a naval vessel, their hands bound and faces covered, before they were let off into the Andaman Sea with life jackets. John, one of the deported men, recounted that they were treated as captives: Then they threw us in the sea.

Amid an investigation into these allegations, Thomas Andrews, the UN's special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, stated that there exists significant evidence supporting the intentional deportation of refugees. The Indian government has yet to publicly respond to the accusations despite repeated inquiries.

Rohingya refugees in India are often considered illegal immigrants rather than asylum seekers, complicating their status and rights within the country. Recent actions by Indian authorities have raised alarm bells among the Rohingya community, inciting fears of further deportations, with reports suggesting a notable increase in such incidents.

Concerningly, Amin now lives with heightened anxiety that he and his family could face similar fates, fearing every day may be their last in India. He lamented, In my heart, there is only this fear that the Indian government will take us also and throw us in the sea anytime.