Washington D.C. – Human Rights Watch, Oct. 22, 2025
Seek Release, Reopen Investigation into Thuzar Maung Family’s Abduction
The Malaysian government should press Myanmar’s junta for the immediate release of a refugee family abducted from Kuala Lumpur in July 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. More than two years after her disappearance, Myanmar junta authorities announced on October 17, 2025, that they were detaining Thuzar Maung, a Myanmar pro-democracy activist, along with her husband and three children.
The junta said that Thuzar Maung, 48, and her family members were arrested for “illegally reentering” Myanmar and that an arrest warrant had been issued for her under Myanmar’s counterterrorism law in January 2023. Malaysian authorities should urgently reopen their investigation into the abduction of Thuzar Maung and her family from their home in Kuala Lumpur, which may amount to transnational repression, a cross-border violation of human rights against a country’s nationals.
“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,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Malaysian government is failing to protect refugees at risk, including children, and the role of Myanmar’s junta and possibly other governments needs to be fully explored and brought to light.”
