By Joseph Allchin

Rohingya asylum seekers in detention in the Indian Andaman islands have alleged shocking abuse at the hands of Thai authorities earlier this year, in a repeat of treatment that Rohingya asylum seekers were subjected to in 2009, and that Thai authorities claimed to have stopped.

Around 91 Rohingya were reportedly rescued by the Indian Navy adrift in the Bay of Bengal, who alleged that they had been pushed out to sea by the Thai Navy in a vessel with no engine and only 100 litres of water. 25 had to be admitted to hospital after their rescue.

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, one Shaik Montaz said; “After torturing us for five days in Thailand, the Thai army handed us over to the Thai navy. The navy soldiers loaded us on to our boat on January 18 and we found that the engine was missing. For more than two days our boat was towed by the navy boat until we were hundreds of miles away from the Thai coast.”

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