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Four Burmese
refugees charged in court
Fauwaz Abdul Aziz Jun 29, 05 5:19pm, malaysiakini.com Four Burmese refugees, including two women, were today charged at the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court for various offences under the Immigration Act. The quartet, who had been granted 'temporary protection' letters by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), were arrested on June 16 at the Pudu police station in Cheras while visiting 64 Burmese friends detained earlier for illegal assembly. One women refugee, who possessed a Burmese passport, was charged under Section 15 of the Act for staying beyond the expiry of her visa. The offense carries a maximum punishment of five years imprisonment and/or a minimum fine of RM10,000. The other three, who are without passports, were charged under Section 6 (1) (c) of the same Act for entering and staying in Malaysia without valid documents. They are also liable to be jailed up to five years and/or fined up to RM10,000. They can also be caned up to six strokes of the ratan upon conviction. One of their lawyers, Amer Hamzah Arshad, pointed out to the court that the four were refugees seeking asylum in Malaysia from the Burmese military junta. Magistrate Nazran Mohd Sham fixed their hearing for July 26. Language barrier Meanwhile, the 62 Burmese refugees arrested two weeks ago for demonstrating in front of the Burmese embassy in Kuala Lumpur were brought to the same court to hear charges of illegal assembly and failure to obey a dispersal order by the police. They were also to be charged under Section 6 (1) (c) of the Immigration Act for entering and staying in the country without valid documents. However, the charges were not read out as the refugees could not understand English or Bahasa Malaysia. Nazran fixed the same date for their case to be mentioned to allow the court to acquire the services of a Burmese interpreter from the UNHCR. Under Section 27 (5) of the Police Act, an illegal gathering is, upon conviction, punishable with a fine of between RM2,000 to RM10,000 and imprisonment of not more than a year. Section 27 (4) of the same Act, meanwhile, provides for a maximum fine of RM10,000 and/or three months jail. At the same time, two Burmese child refugees who were involved in the June 16 demonstration were brought to the Kuala Lumpur juvenile court today to hear similar charges of illegal assembly, failure to disperse, and not possessing valid documents. Since the two children, both aged 17, also could not understand English or Bahasa Malaysia, the judge fixed July 26 for their case mention as well. All of the 68 Burmese, with the exception of the two minors, would be transferred from their current lock-up at the Pudu police station to the Sungai Buloh prison. The minors will be held at Kajang prison. About 70 people, including the 64 refugees, had gathered at the embassy in Ampang to show their support for Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently under house arrest. ------------------------------------------------ ADIL-Net will remain a Free Forum until further notice. Disclaimer: The opinions and views posted are not necessarily that of the list owner's or ADIL's -------------------------------------------------- Send a blank e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - to subscribe to the list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - to unsubscribe from the list [EMAIL PROTECTED] - to switch your subscription to normal [EMAIL PROTECTED] - to switch your subscription to digest ADIL Homepage: http://members.easyspace.com/reformasi/ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
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