Malaysia urged to seek release of abducted Myanmar refugee Thuzar Maung
Malaysia is under pressure to secure the release of Myanmar refugee Thuzar Maung and her family, who were abducted in Kuala Lumpur in 2023 and later confirmed to be in junta custody in Myanmar. Human Rights Watch calls for renewed investigation and protection of at-risk refugees.
- Myanmar confirmed it is detaining refugee activist Thuzar Maung and her family, over two years after they were abducted in Malaysia.
- Human Rights Watch calls on Malaysia to press for their release and reopen investigations into the abduction.
Malaysia faces growing pressure to act after Myanmar’s military junta confirmed it is detaining refugee and pro-democracy activist Thuzar Maung, along with her husband and three children, more than two years after their disappearance from Kuala Lumpur in July 2023.
According to a 17 October 2025 statement by the junta, Maung, 48, and her family were arrested for “illegally reentering” Myanmar. An arrest warrant had reportedly been issued for her under Myanmar’s Counter-Terrorism Law as early as January 2023.
The Malaysian government has been urged by Human Rights Watch (HRW) to demand the family’s immediate release and to relaunch a full investigation into their abduction.
HRW described the incident as possible “transnational repression” — a violation of human rights involving cross-border targeting of political dissidents.
Elaine Pearson, Asia Director at Human Rights Watch, stated, “The Malaysian authorities should publicly press Myanmar’s junta to free Thuzar Maung and her family and investigate how this prominent refugee ended up in Myanmar.”
Maung had fled Myanmar in 2015 amid rising anti-Muslim violence and was recognised as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Known for her activism supporting democracy and migrant rights, she was vocal online, particularly after Myanmar’s February 2021 coup, using Facebook to criticise the junta. She had amassed more than 93,000 followers.
The junta claims Maung supported Myanmar’s opposition National Unity Government, which it deems a “terrorist organisation.” Her reported charges under section 52(a) of the amended Counter-Terrorism Law carry a sentence of three to seven years in prison. The statement from the junta included a blurred photo of five individuals believed to be Maung and her family, but did not disclose their location, arrest date, or legal status — leaving them effectively forcibly disappeared.
On 4 July 2023, Maung and her family vanished from their home in Ampang Jaya, Kuala Lumpur. CCTV footage captured a car with false license plates entering their gated community before the family’s phones were shut off. A friend on a call with Maung at the time reported hearing her scream as unidentified men entered the home.
Despite early appeals from the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which called for a “thorough, impartial, and transparent” investigation, Malaysian authorities have yet to take decisive action. In September 2023, Malaysia responded that no evidence or witness accounts supported claims of abduction and instead pointed to the family’s previous tenancy issues. Authorities also stated that they had notified INTERPOL regarding the disappearance.
HRW has criticised this response, especially in light of Malaysia’s track record of forcibly returning asylum seekers to Myanmar post-coup, often without due process or review of protection claims. Between January and mid-May 2025, Malaysia conducted immigration raids resulting in the arrest of over 34,000 individuals.
Human rights groups and civil society organisations have reported increasing fear among Myanmar nationals in Malaysia, including UNHCR-registered refugees, of arrest and forced return. UN experts have also warned of the growing threat of transnational repression in Southeast Asia, where governments allegedly label overseas nationals as “terrorists” to justify cross-border targeting.
Since the 2021 coup, Myanmar’s military authorities have detained approximately 30,000 individuals, including journalists, aid workers, and activists, under sweeping counterterrorism provisions. The junta has also employed extraterritorial strategies such as digital surveillance, passport revocations, and pressure for deportation of dissidents.
As chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this year, Malaysia is under renewed scrutiny. The ASEAN Summit, set to begin on 26 October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, presents an opportunity for member states and partners to address not only Maung’s case but also wider concerns about regional safeguards for political dissidents and refugees.
Pearson urged action at the summit, stating, “Refugees like Thuzar Maung and her family should be safe from harm, and Malaysia and other countries need to act to deter further efforts by the junta to abduct and disappear Myanmar refugees.”
