A group of 18 medical professionals have been arrested for treating soldiers — as well as anti-junta activists — in Myanmar’s detention center, a human rights group has revealed.
Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi condemned the charges Friday, as scores of activists hold protests in Myanmar to protest human rights abuses and heavy military crackdown against the country’s Rohingya minority. “I have not seen many examples in the world where medical professionals are arrested for helping ordinary people,” she said, adding that those responsible for the arrests had committed a “criminal act.”
Earlier in the week, two women received light sentences, each given two months in prison, for playing music at a protest.
But the Red Cross, which has reported some 2,000 alleged victims of rape, beatings, and murder by security forces, is standing by those arrested. “We have seen doctors and nurses treat some of the refugees who have fled to Bangladesh, and we’re concerned that their safety should not be put at risk,” said Sarajane van der Zee, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Read the full story at the Independent.
Related
Doctor rebuked for treating Rohingya in army-run camp
Member of Myanmar army general accused of child rapes goes missing
After years of displacement, small village finally gets its own polling booth