A/HRC/39/CRP.2 1118. In the one or two months preceding the August 2017 violence, in some locations Rohingya were no longer able to leave their village, under any circumstances.2506 As one man from Chut Pyin, Rathedaung Township, explained: Everything changed about two months before the violence. In the past, other village tracts were accessible if you had the relevant token from the chairperson, but suddenly people were no longer able to move between villages using these tokens. Even villages within the same village tract became inaccessible. We were not allowed to go outside the village. 2507 1119. Theft, intimidation and extortion by security forces, already a large part of daily Rohingya life,2508 also increased during this period, largely as a result of the increased presence of the Tatmadaw and other security forces in the region after October 2016. 1120. Rohingya were required to pay exorbitant informal taxes or bribes in all aspects of their personal, business and community life. 2509 Extortion, intimidation and theft took place in the context of regular patrolling by the security forces. The security forces, stole from the Rohingya and regularly looted belongings and valuables, and extorted money. 2510 Rohingya cattle and animals were regularly stolen.2511 1121. Theft from Rohingya shops was very common. 2512 One interviewee said that the military would come regularly to his medicine shop in Pa Da Kar Ywar Thit, Maungdaw Township, to extort money. Once, he was detained, beaten, and forced to pay a “fine” to be released.2513 Another interviewee was forced to close his shop any time the police visited his village; otherwise, they would steal from him. 2514 If the villagers slaughtered an animal, they were forced to share it with the BGP.2515 1122. Public gatherings of more than five Rohingya were prohibited after 2012, in accordance with curfew orders imposed at the time. 2516 However, while curfew orders were lifted in most of Rakhine State in September 2014, they have remained in force in Buthidaung and Maungdaw until the present day. It appears this prohibition became more strictly enforced against Rohingya following the October 2016 violence. This measure prevented Rohingya from coming together to practise their faith. 2517 After October 2016, several interviewees reported that mosques and madrassas were locked, closed down or destroyed.2518 One interviewee, a religious leader from Buthidaung Township, recalled that their madrassas and mosques had been closed after October 2016 and Qur’ans had been destroyed. Due to religious people being targeted, he stopped wearing his religious clothes.2519 Security forces also engaged in the humiliating and degrading practice of cutting the beards of Rohingya men.2520 1123. One notable incident during this period was the arson attack against the mosque of Zay Di Pyin, Rathedaung Township, in June 2017, during the month of Ramadan, and the failure of the security forces to protect it. The mosque, which was over 100 years old, was 2506 2507 2508 2509 2510 2511 2512 2513 2514 2515 2516 2517 2518 2519 2520 264 RI-001, RI-004. RI-004. See this chapter, section B.7: Other forms of oppression. LI-104, XI-008. CI-118, CI-119, CI-140, LI-049, LI-053, LI-067, LI-084, LI-118. CI-012, CI-105, CI-133, LI-050, LI-057, WI-010. CI-047, CI-049, CI-105, CI-112, CI-118, CI-119, CI-133, LI-050, LI-057, LI-084, QI-002, QI-051, QI-063, QI-114, QI-036, WI-005, WI-006, WI-010. QI-114. QI-036. QI-002. See this chapter, section C.5: Spreading hate. CI-140, LI-053, LI-104, QI-106, XI-008, YI-012. LI -049, LI-050, LI-053, LI-066, LI-067, LI-076, LI-104, LI-124, QI-106, QI-111, YI-010, YI-025. LI-124. LI-046, LI-051, LI-068, LI-127, YI-023.