( CNN ) -- If it were not for the powerful stench and desperate shouts emanating from the wire cages , the men sitting in rows , each wearing a white skull cap , look like they could be at a prayer meeting . But for the 276 Rohingya men sitting on the floor of two cells designed to hold just 15 people each , their situation is about as far away from a mosque as it gets -- that was the scene , vividly described and shown in an a report by British news network and CNN affiliate , Channel 4 . Appearing to have barely enough room to sit , some of the men reportedly had swollen feet and withered leg muscles from a lack of exercise and had not moved from the cage in five months . According to a new report from Human Rights Watch ( HRW ) , the men are among 1,700 ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- who are being held in appalling conditions in Thai immigration detention centers in Thailand 's Phang Nga province and filmed secretly by the news team from Channel 4 . Tens of thousands of ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar 's Arakan State have already fled persecution amid ongoing sectarian violence between the majority Buddhist Arakanese and the Muslim Rohingya . Many flee in small , unseaworthy boats arriving in Malaysia , Indonesia and Thailand . Some never make it to their destinations . Last month , a boat carrying about 100 Rohingya capsized off western Myanmar and at least 50 were feared drowned . HRW says the overcrowded conditions are part of an unsanctioned policy of deterring Rohingya from seeking asylum in Thailand . Q & A : What 's behind sectarian violence in Myanmar ? `` I think that the Thai policy is all about saying to the Rohingya , 'Hey , if you land in Thailand you 're not going to have an easy time of it ' , '' Phil Robertson , deputy director of the Asia division of HRW , told CNN . `` By putting people in detention centers in these appalling conditions the Thai government is effectively saying come here at your own peril . '' OPINION : Two-child policy in Myanmar will increase bloodshed . HRW says Thai immigration officials have not permitted UNHCR , the United Nations ' refugee agency , to conduct refugee status determination screenings and have split up the Rohingya families with women and children sent to government-run shelters . According to the Channel 4 report , while the women and children are held in better conditions than the men , they often have no information about the status or even whereabouts of their partners . `` The government should immediately allow them to pursue their asylum claims with the UN refugee agency , '' said HRW Asia director Brad Adams , adding that under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution . HRW also claimed that under Thailand 's `` help on '' policy -- whereby Thai Navy vessels that intercept Rohingya boats supply them with fuel and provisions on condition the boats sail onward to Malaysia and Indonesia -- Rohingya were being put at further risk . `` Thai authorities should provide temporary protection to Rohingya and scrap the 'help on ' policy that places these asylum seekers in harm 's way , '' Adams said . `` The government should help Rohingya who escape from oppression and hardship in Burma -- not worsen their plight . '' But Manasvi Srisodapol , spokesman for the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs , told CNN that Thai authorities were fully aware of and concerned about overcrowding at its existing immigration facilities . `` Since January , various groups of Rohingyas have been placed under the care of various immigration and detention centers and government shelters across Thailand , that notwithstanding , alternative arrangements are being identified as a matter of priority to address the issue of overcrowding , as well as in reuniting those Rohingyas with their family members . '' He denied the government was not cooperating with international bodies over the issue , saying the government was working in close partnership with humanitarian agencies such as the UNHCR , UNICEF and the ICRC to provide temporary assistance to the refugees . He added that their asylum rights would be fully respected . `` Thailand has not been denying anyone , their basic human rights , he said . `` In fact Thailand is providing temporary assistance and shelters in spite the fact that these Rohingyas are illegal migrants . Furthermore , international organizations such as UNHCR , ICRC , IOM and UNICEF have access to these people on the regular basis . '' Thailand 's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra agreed in January to permit Rohingya arriving by boat in Thailand to stay temporarily , initially for six months , until they could be safely repatriated or resettled in a third country . `` The Thai government is in close cooperation with various countries and international organizations to find a durable solution for the Rohingyas , '' said Srisodapol . `` The six-month period announced in January is a tentative time frame and we are examining various possibilities . '' Critics fear that if the Thai government is unable to find a third country that would accept the asylum seekers , then Thailand may deport the Rohingya back to Myanmar where they would undoubtedly face persecution . CNN 's Kocha Olarn in Bangkok contributed to this report .
News team secretly film desperate condition of Rohingya asylum seekers in Thailand . 276 Rohingya men sit cross legged on the floor of two cells designed to hold just 100 people eac . They are among the ethnic Rohingya from Myanmar who are being held in appalling conditions . Each year , tens of other ethnic minorities from Myanmar 's Arakan region face persecution .