July 29, A group of people from Myanmar calling for democracy in the country under military rule will file a petition with Japan’s immigration authorities on Monday to grant them refugee status, their supporters said Saturday.

About 10 activists, most of them staying in Japan illegally, claim they will suffer persecution if deported to Myanmar. They will submit the petition to the Nagoya Regional Immigration Bureau, the supporters said.

The supporters say the move is rare because Myanmar activists living abroad tend to shy away from actions that could attract attention out of fear the government in their home country might harm their families. This time, they are going to request that the Japanese government take a more active role to reduce chances of that happening.

Only one of the applicants, all male and in their 20s to 40s, has stayed in Japan on a visa. They have lived and worked in Aichi and other prefectures while taking part in rallies for a democratic Myanmar, held in large Japanese cities like Tokyo and Nagoya.

Among them, a 45-year-old man was imprisoned by the junta for three years before coming to Japan for his role as a security guard at a speech in 1988 given by Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning pro-democracy advocate who in her latest period of detention in Myanmar has been under house arrest since May 2003.

Another man, 35, claims the military government intimidated his mother, urging her to persuade him to quit political activities.