cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/20747975

There are over 100 Myanmar nationals who, despite having completed their sentences and paid all their fines for illegally staying in Manipur State, are still being held at Imphal Prison. Their families are allowed to contact them once a week.

Family members of those imprisoned say they are facing difficulties in raising 50,000 rupees because they have been fleeing conflict and lack stable employment.

  • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    So wait, how is this not ransom? They committed a crime and completed their punishment plus paid a fine. Now they are being held against their will and can only be released after their families pay money that wasn’t directed by the judicial system. I know this is India and not the US, but that sounds exactly like unlawful confinement and ransom to me.

    • RandAlThor@lemmy.caOP
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      6 months ago

      And their crime was running from a war at home where their homes had been burned to the ground by a military junta.

    • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Most people in the US can’t afford an unexpected $600 bill, let alone refugees from an impoverished country that have been incarcerated. Cruel

    • RandAlThor@lemmy.caOP
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      6 months ago

      A lot of money for poor refugee families who lost their homes to the war in Myanmar running from there and having no livelihood (likely was subsistence farming in the rugged hills of Chin state) no status in India to earn wages in India.

    • Baphomet_The_Blasphemer@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Rupees is simply the name of the currency. The different colors represent differences in value. So a green rupee is worth one, whereas a blue rupee is worth five, a red worth twenty, purple worth 50, and gold worth 200.

      Since they’re demanding a 50,000 rupee ransom, I’d imagine you could pay with 50k green rupees, 10k blue rupees, 2,500 red rupees, 1,000 purple rupees, or 250 gold rupees… or just convert to USD and send them the $598.99 they want.