Executive director Sevan Doraisamy said the decision to charge a 15-year-old Rohingya boy for not possessing valid travel documents “marks another low” in the persecution of refugees in Malaysia.

“This prosecution would give a further impact on the teenager’s development and growth because he was held in detention for over two months,” he told reporters at the High Court here.

Sevan said this after attending the hearing of the Rohingya teenager, who wants the charge against him quashed.

The boy was charged in the Sepang Magistrate’s Court on Dec 21 last year under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act.

The teenager cited in his court application that the charge against him was defective and contravened the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Justice Zulkifli Bakar fixed March 27 to hear the boy’s bid to drop the charge.

Sevan said under the convention, the government must provide appropriate protection and humanitarian aid to refugee children.

“Prime Minister Najib Razak is very vocal about the Rohingya issue, yet he did not address the problems (faced by the) Rohingya community here,” Sevan said, adding that this appeared to be an attempt by the Malaysian government to politicise a humanitarian crisis.