PATHEIN, MYANMAR ¨C Dozens of Rohingya Muslims appeared in a Myanmar court on Wednesday to face charges of traveling illegally after they were arrested while fleeing apartheid-like conditions in the country¡¯s Rakhine state.
The group of 93, including 23 children, were brought to court on the same day that Myanmar¡¯s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, appeared before the top U.N. tribunal in The Hague to defend the country against accusations of genocide in Rakhine.
Armed police barred journalists from entering the court in the town of Pathein, with officials citing ¡°security reasons.¡± Only their bare feet were visible to a Reuters reporter at the court as police used trucks to block the group from view as they were led into the court. Such hearings in Myanmar are usually open to reporters.
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