(INDIA, May 5, 2025)—On May 5, 2025, Indian authorities released Rohingya human rights defender Mohammad Arfat from detention, transferring him to Bangladesh. The actions by the Indian authorities took place more than 40 days after the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a finding on March 26, 2025 that the Indian government arbitrarily detained Rohingya human rights defender Mohammad Arfat for more than four years without due process.
The Working Group issued the ruling in response to a complaint filed by Fortify Rights in May 2024 about Mohammad Arfat’s case. In the decision, the Working Group called on India to provide Mohammad Arfat with reparations, prevent future violations, and cooperate with the U.N. Refugee Agency to ensure his protection and potential resettlement. Despite this, Indian authorities forcibly transferred Mohammad Arfat to Bangladesh instead of providing him with
appropriate reparations and protection.
Upon his forced transfer, Bangladesh authorities initially detained Mohammad Arfat on the India-Bangladesh border. However, on May 12, 2025, Bangladesh authorities released him following a series of interventions by Fortify Rights and the U.N. Refugee Agency on his case. Fortify Rights advocated for his release by engaging the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention about his subsequent detention in Bangladesh.
Mohammad Arfat is a Rohingya refugee, genocide survivor, and human rights defender from Myanmar. Indian authorities arrested him in Assam State on December 23, 2020, physically assaulted him, and convicted him of immigration-related offenses, despite the fact that he is a registered refugee with the U.N. refugee agency. He was detained for years in various detention facilities in India. Although he had already served the one-year sentence he received in 2022, the Government of India continued to detain him without charges until his release.
Fortify Rights has repeatedly raised the case of Mohammad Arfat, including directly with the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar. On June 6, 2024, Fortify Rights published a news release in English and Rohingya languages, including a Rohingya language audio version, advocating for the Indian government to immediately and unconditionally release Mohammad Arfat.