Sittwe, Arakan State — A Rohingya man, along with his ailing wife and their only son, was detained by the Arakan Army while attempting to travel to Yangon for medical treatment, according to a family acquaintance who also alleged that the man was beaten and wrongly accused of drug smuggling.
The man has been identified as Ashfaq, also known as Saw Yad Hussain, 42, a grocery trader from Phezi Village, Ward No. 2 in Maungdaw Township. He left his home on August 14, 2024, and had since been living as a displaced person at Hla Pho Khaung camp.
In December 2024, his wife, who was suffering from a serious liver condition, traveled to Bangladesh for treatment with permission from the Arakan Army. When her condition did not improve, the family decided to seek further medical care in Yangon.
According to a friend of the family, the three were detained during the journey. The source, who requested anonymity, said Ashfaq showed visible injuries.
“I saw wounds and bruises on his face. From what I saw, it appears he was beaten and then accused of drug-related charges,” the source said. “He is not involved in any illegal activities. It may be that the boat operators who transported them were involved in marijuana smuggling, but that has nothing to do with him.”
The same source called for the family’s immediate release and expressed concern over the treatment of Rohingya civilians.
The detentions come at a time when authorities have reported separate incidents related to drug smuggling. According to media reports in Rakhine State, on April 24 at around 1:20 PM, a Coast Guard team inspected a damaged motorboat anchored between Done Pike and Cheinkhali villages in Rathedaung Township. Marijuana was reportedly found on board, and six Bangladeshi men and one Bangladeshi woman were arrested.
In a separate development, the Arakan Army was also reported to have detained 11 Bangladeshi nationals along with two motorboats on suspicion of smuggling marijuana from Bangladesh into Sittwe.
There has been no official statement linking Ashfaq’s case to these incidents. However, the family’s acquaintance maintains that the accusations against him are unfounded and that he was traveling solely to seek medical treatment for his wife.
