The Imam of a mosque in Rathutaung Township in Rakhine State was arrested after fire at the ancient mosque on 25 April. The mosque in Zay Ti Taung village is about 200 years old. The village has about 1000 households only 100 are Muslim homes. A local eyewitness said no one was inside the mosque at the time fire started. “That was around 9:30 at night. First, a Rakhine man who live near the mosque informed by phone to Township Administration Department and later the head of 100 households was informed only after that people in the village knew and fire brigade came. People who arrive to the site saw the mosque doors were broken”. “We were inside the mosque trying to extinguish fire on the carpets at that time a large crowd of Rakhine gathered in front of the mosque. “We were unable to get out of the mosque so we called to the police, the head of the police station and a constable came, but as they saw Rakhine were hostile they brought more police force members,” he said. The Rakhine people were complaining that because of negligence by Muslims the fire broke out, they did not help to extinguish the fire and they were arguing with the police giving protection to the mosque. The Muslims who went into mosque to extinguish the fire were able to come out around 3:30 in the morning. The police summoned the Imam and five other Muslim villagers to the police station for questioning and the Imam Abdul Malik was charged under section285 of Penal Code for negligence. A local resident said Muslim are facing oppression by authorities in enforcing the laws. “ The police is aware that we no longer use candle since we are using solar power from a long time, but to appease they have arrested the Imam, said a local resident Source BHRN