Malaysia police probe broad daylight ‘abduction’ of Myanmar’s pro-democracy activist and family
- Thuzar Maung, her husband and two children who are living in Malaysia as UNHCR-verified refugees, were taken from a gated community in broad daylight
- Maung, who runs a Muslim refugee support group, fled Myanmar for Malaysia in 2015 to escape growing violence against Muslims
The driver of the car carrying the abductors told compound security guards that they were police officers. They left with Maung and her family several hours later around 7pm, along with the family’s cars, according to CCTV footage seen by Human Rights Watch.
Maung, an outspoken supporter of Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement, fled Myanmar for Malaysia in 2015 to escape growing violence against Muslims.
A “missing persons” investigation has been opened, Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan told This Week in Asia, without elaborating on when the investigation started or giving any potential leads.
Myanmar is in the grip of civil war as armed resistance to the junta that seized power in a 2021 coup mounts across the country, with funds and diplomatic support drummed up by pro-democracy activists outside Myanmar to help contest an increasingly forgotten conflict.
Human Rights Watch on Monday called on Malaysian authorities to urgently locate the family.