Refugees, migrants held in ‘violent, squalid’ Malaysian detention centres

Malaysia is holding thousands of refugees and migrants in a network of “violent, squalid” detention centres where they are deprived of basic needs and sometimes subject to torture

the rights group said 23 former detainees described the centres as “oppressive” places where they faced the daily threat of punishment.

Punishments included being hit, kicked and beaten with rubber pipes or batons, being forced to hold stress positions or hang from the wall, isolation, having meals withheld and being ordered to perform hundreds of squats and push-ups

Hussein, a Rohingya refugee registered with the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) since 2016 but still detained he had told HRW that he had been held in multiple detention centres.