International Criminal Court requests inquest into Rohingya crisis

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Courton Thursday requested permission to investigate the persecution ofRohingya people in south-east Myanmar, a statement from the courtsaid.The Hague-based international court's prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, hadalready announced such a move last week. It is unclear when judgeswill decide on her request.She is pushing for "an investigation into alleged crimes againsthumanity, namely deportation, other inhumane acts and persecutioncommitted against the Rohingya people from Myanmar," the statementreads.Last year, the court ruled that it may exercise jurisdiction overMyanmar, even though it is not a party to the court. NeighbouringBangladesh, where around 700,000 predominantly Muslim Rohingya peoplehave sought refuge, is however a member state.The military has been blamed for the alleged crimes inBuddhist-majority Myanmar.