A/HRC/39/CRP.2 1108. The Mission also received credible information that from January 2017, “special courts” at the Township and District levels were opened at Myo Thit Taung Ward in Buthidaung Town to try the cases of persons detained in connection with the 9 October 2016 attacks. It is reported that warehouse buildings were transformed into temporary detention facilities during the hearings period, and into courtrooms for the trials. It remains unclear whether the “special courts” were established by law and officially gazetted and if this process was completed before trials were initiated. 2480 In January 2017, detainees in Buthidaung prison were reportedly transported to these “special courts” where expedited trials were conducted. Detainees were reportedly not represented by lawyers nor had access to lawyers during the expedited trials.2481 1109. It is alleged that by January 2017, 500 detainees had been tried and sentenced in these special courts, and many of those tried were sentenced to death or life imprisonment. 2482 The Mission notes the lack of clarity regarding whether procedural guarantees were provided, including the presumption of innocence, and the right to review by a higher court. Other credible reports indicated that that children as young as 10-year old were arrested and charged.2483 There are also multiple credible reports of Rohingya deaths in custody in connection with these arrests and detentions. 2484 Sexual and gender-based violence For more than a year, we could not sleep in our houses because the military was coming frequently and arresting people, extorting money and taking women.2485 1110. In the months before the “clearance operations” of 25 August 2017, women and girls were raped, gang raped and subjected to sexual slavery across the three townships of Maungdaw, Buthidaung and Rathedaung. Sexual and gender-based violence by soldiers increased after 9 October 2016, with soldiers visiting villages more frequently and either raping women in their homes or taking them to military bases, where they were raped and gang raped.2486 1111. For example, in Kyet Yoe Pyin village, Maungdaw Township, one survivor estimated that more than 100 females were raped. She stated that she used to hide her daughters whenever soldiers came.2487 Similarly, a witness from Hpon Nyo Leik village, Buthidaung Township, described soldiers visiting around twice a week to take women, who were then raped.2488 In another village, up to 15 women were estimated to have died after excessive bleeding from rapes.2489 A 20-year old female survivor from Thet Oo Chaung, Maungdaw Township, described how Tatmadaw soldiers came to her village in March 2017 and she was gang raped by three to four Tatmadaw soldiers in her house. 2490 In Koe Tan Kauk village, Rathedaung Township, sexual assaults on women were common and some of the women and girls taken to military camps did not return. 2491 2480 2481 2482 2483 2484 2485 2486 2487 2488 2489 2490 2491 262 K-076.36, K.076.38, Ibid. K-076.37. QI-107, K.076.36, K.076.38, V-257. See also: Ministry of Information, “Child detainee hospitalised for 2nd time” (3 February 2017), http://www.moi.gov.mm/moi:eng/?q=news/2/03/2017/id-10083 K-076.41, V-215, See also, Special Procedures Communications to the Government of Myanmar, UA MMR 3/2017, (11 July 2017) and UA MMR 4/2016, (21 October 2016), https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=23089; https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=22815 LI-117. CI-105, CI-119, CI-133, CI-145, EI-094, LI-004, LI-045, LI-059, LI-077, LI-117, QI-063, QI-105, QI-114. CI-105. LI-077. LI-004. EI-041. CI-119, LI-045, XI-001.