Indonesia Files Genocide Case Against Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing Over Rohingya Crisis

A coalition of civil society organizations filed a landmark criminal complaint in Indonesia on Monday against Myanmar's newly elected President Min Aung Hlaing, accusing him of committing genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority. The case was submitted to Indonesia's Attorney General's Office, marking a significant legal milestone in the decades-long pursuit of justice for one of the world's most persecuted ethnic groups.

The complaint was brought forward by Yasmin Ullah, a Rohingya activist and survivor who fled Myanmar, alongside prominent Indonesian figures including a former attorney general and the chairman of Muhammadiyah, one of Indonesia's largest Islamic organizations. Prosecutors have officially accepted the case, making it the first of its kind filed under Indonesia's updated penal code, which permits universal jurisdiction over crimes of extraordinary severity — regardless of where they occurred or the nationalities of those involved.

The charges stem from a 2017 military offensive led by Min Aung Hlaing's armed forces, which drove more than 730,000 Rohingya Muslims from their homes into neighboring Bangladesh. Survivors documented widespread killings, mass rape, and the deliberate burning of villages. The Rohingya remain the world's largest stateless population, with hundreds of thousands still living in refugee settlements across the region.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation and home to ASEAN's headquarters, has a direct stake in the crisis, as Rohingya refugees continue arriving on its shores by boat. Relations between ASEAN member states and Myanmar have been severely strained since Min Aung Hlaing led the 2021 military coup, which sparked a prolonged civil war and ongoing humanitarian emergency.

Min Aung Hlaing was formally elected president last week following a controversial election widely condemned by Western governments as illegitimate. Myanmar's junta has consistently denied all genocide allegations. A separate genocide case against Myanmar is also being heard at the International Court of Justice, filed by Gambia.