Covid, scabies, beatings: A refugee's story in M'sian detention

Editor’s note: This is the transcript of a Myanmar student activist’s testimony, speaking about her experience after arriving in Malaysia in 2022 to seek refuge from persecution by Myanmar’s military junta.

- The transcript was provided by migrant rights groups North-South Initiative and Altsean Burma at a press briefing today, where they played a video of the activist.

- For security reasons, they did not disclose the identity of the activist, who is currently living as a refugee in Malaysia.

- Malaysiakini has added notes to the transcript based on information furnished by the NGOs to better reflect locations where the incidents allegedly occurred.

When the coup occurred, I opposed it and decided to join the student civil disobedience movement to resist it. Because of this, the military started looking for me, and I faced life-threatening risks.

That’s why I decided to come to Malaysia for safety.

I arrived in Malaysia in June 2022 via Thailand. We crossed the border by boat. Upon entering Malaysia...