New Delhi: Seventy-one Myanmar nationals arrested by the Manipur police did not enter India as “illegal immigrants” but as “refugees” who “had no option but to return to their country at the moment”, a magistrate in the state The court said it is allowing him judicial custody in an order last month.
The court, on February 10, extended his judicial custody for 15 days and sent the accused to the Foreigner’s Detention Center (FDC) at Sajiwa Jail in Imphal East district.
According to a previous court order seen by ThePrint, on January 27, the Manipur police arrested 71 Myanmar nationals from the Moreh sub-division of the border district of Tengnoupal. The group had reportedly settled in New Salbang village in Moreh, with some of them living there for months. The government had sought 15-day judicial custody for all the 71 accused. The order states that in respect of an FIR registered under the Foreigners Act 1946.
In an order passed on the intervening night of January 27 and 28, Judicial Magistrate Surangbam Manglebi said that since February 2021 coup In Myanmar, many Myanmarese citizens fled their country and crossed the border to India after the military overthrew the elected government of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Foreign nationals who enter the country without valid travel documents are considered illegal immigrants. According To the Union Home Ministry.
The court order said that on interrogation, some of the accused told the court that they were forced to leave the country after their homes and villages were bombed.
The court then quoted the definition of ‘refugees’ 1951 Refugee Convention or the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, which defines a refugee as “any person who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of origin because of a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion”.
Relying on this definition and a 2021 Holocaust In the Manipur High Court case, the Magistrate’s Court said, “It can be said that all the 71 accused persons who belong to Myanmar entered the Indian territory at Moreh not as ‘illegal immigrants’ but as ‘refugees’ who have no option but to return to their country. For the time being”.
The court then directed the detaining authorities that the accused, “being foreign nationals fleeing persecution, asylum seekers and refugees”, should not be accommodated with accused or those convicted of criminal offences.
The court also directed conducting regular medical tests for all the accused and giving “special treatment” to six senior citizens among them.
It had asked the authorities to submit the report of his medical examination when he is produced before the court on February 10 at the end of his 15-day judicial custody.
The court allowed their remand in judicial custody for 15 days, saying it was necessary for “smooth investigation to ascertain the actual facts and circumstances leading to the arrest of the 71 Myanmar nationals…and any The possibility of involvement of another person also facilitated their disposal by escaping the notice of law enforcement agencies in this international border town”.
Emphasizing that “this is a very peculiar case involving the arrest and detention of foreigners on a large scale of citizens of Myanmar”, it took note of India’s Municipal Law, Article 51 (Promoting International Peace and Security) placed in Also international standards to be followed while detaining foreign nationals.
While acknowledging that India is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention of 1951, the court noted that “India is a party to the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948) specifically Article 14, which declares that everyone have the right to seek and to obtain relief from persecution in other countries”.
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‘Free legal aid, special treatment for the elderly’
According to the order, the entire exercise of taking (judicial) remand began at 7:10 pm on January 27 and ended at around 12:40 am on January 28.
During the hearing last month, the state government informed the court that earlier that day (January 27), the Manipur Home Department issued a notification declaring the entire complex of the newly constructed unused building in the southern part of the Sajeeva complex as ‘foreigner’ Was. ‘Detention Center’ to detain illegal immigrants. The court was assured that the 71 people arrested by them would not be mixed with the general jail crowd and would instead be kept in a new detention center set up for foreigners.
Additionally, the court noted that the 71 arrested included some elderly people who, it said, “require special care and assistance due to their age, vulnerability, low mobility, psychological and physical health”. It then ordered the authorities to “ensure that this special group of elderly prisoners is given special treatment with all possible assistance considering their needs”.
The court had also directed the detaining authorities to provide access to those arrested to contact the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), India and other bodies such as the Manipur State Human Rights Commission or NGOs, which may provide assistance to the accused. can help. Legal procedure for applying for documentation.
The authorities were also asked to provide access to free legal aid – a lawyer to interact with the accused, counsel them and give them any other assistance. The court further asked the authorities to submit a status report of the newly designated detention center detailing the maximum capacity of detainees along with photographs showing the hygienic conditions of the centre.
The court directed to present the status report on 10 February.
A statement quoting official sources said that currently over 160 Myanmar nationals are lodged in various jails in Imphal and Churachandpur. reports By northeast now,
Myanmarese ‘didn’t try for legal protection’
During the hearing last month, the state government had said that some of the accused have been living in Moreh for at least six months. Therefore, the accused could approach the relevant authorities in India or apply for their Refugee Status Determination (RSD) in the meantime.
The court had then said that it is the primary responsibility of the states to administer the RSDs. However, in cases where a country is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or does not have an appropriate and efficient national asylum procedure, the UNHCR may conduct an RSD under its mandate.
It was therefore said that India would fall in the second category, as it is neither a signatory to the Convention nor does it have a national refugee protection framework. “However, it continues to host a large number of refugees from neighboring states and honors the UNHCR’s mandate for other nationals mainly from Afghanistan and Myanmar.”
The court also pointed out that registration is the first step towards applying for the RSD process in India through the UNHCR. It then pointed out that since the pandemic the RSD’s interviews are being conducted remotely through video calls, so “all the 71 accused persons can approach the concerned authority for seeking assistance and protection under UNHCR without any difficulty”. Were”.
Remanding them to judicial custody, it said, “But since they have entered India till date, they continued to remain in Indian territory at Moreh despite no effort being made on their part for legal protection.”
(Editing by Anumeha Saxena)
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