Deportation of Rohingya men sets dangerous precedent for refugees in India: Amnesty

The Indian government is conducting a "relentless smear" campaign against Rohingya immigrants and the decision to deport seven men from the community sets a "dangerous" precedent for all asylum seekers in the country, Amnesty International India said Thursday.

It said the deported Rohingya men are at "grave risk" of being subjected to human rights violations by the Myanmar government and the Supreme Court's clearance to the first-ever deportation is a "dark day" for human rights in India.

The top court Thursday cleared last-minute hurdles, leading to the deportation of seven illegally migrated Rohingya men, staying in Assam, to Myanmar by dismissing the plea which had sought to thwart the Union government's move. After the court's order, authorities deported the illegal immigrants.

The illegal immigrants were detained in 2012 and since then had been lodged in Cachar Central Jail in Assam's Silchar.

The rights body said in a statement that the seven Rohingya men were "forcibly" returned to Myanmar.

"This decision negates India's proud tradition of providing refuge to those fleeing serious human rights violations. It endangers the most persecuted population in the world and is bereft of any empathy," Aakar Patel, executive director of Amnesty India, said.

"The Indian government is conducting a relentless smear campaign against the Rohingya community in India for over two years now. This decision sets a dangerous precedent for all asylum seekers and refugees in India.

"The Narendra Modi government must work with the UNHCR so as not to renege on basic human rights commitments," he said.

The top court said these Rohingya men were convicted by the competent court under the Foreigners Act and were held to be as illegal immigrants.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and K M Joseph said that even the country of their origin Myanmar has identified them and accepted them as its citizens.

Earlier this year, Amnesty International published a report detailing extensive, credible evidence implicating Myanmar's military Commander-in-Chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and 12 other named individuals in crimes against humanity committed during the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya population in the northern Rakhine State.

The culmination of nine months of intensive research, including in Myanmar and Bangladesh, the report is an account of how the Myanmar military forced more than 702,000 women, men and children – more than 80 per cent of northern Rakhine State's Rohingya population when the crisis started – to flee to Bangladesh and other countries after August 25 2017.