16 people arrested for alleged Arakan Army links released

By DMG 10 Sep 2021

DMG Newsroom
10 September 2021, Sittwe 

Sixteen Arakanese residents arrested on suspicion of having links with the Arakan Army (AA) and facing long potential prison sentences under the Counter-Terrorism Law were released on September 9, according to family members. 

Among those released were U Kyaw Min, a ferryboat driver; U Ba Saw, a ferryboat clerk; U Ba Tun, a ferryboat crew member; Ko Nyi Nyi Aung, a ferryboat staff; U Thar Tun, and Thar Gyi aka Ko Saw Than, a mechanic. The six men were released from Sittwe Prison on Thursday evening, said Ko Zaw Naing Lin, U Ba Saw’s son. 

“All six people, including my father, were detained for more than a year. I am just happy to see their release. But our family was in trouble when our father, the head of the household, was arrested,” he said. 

The Sittwe District Court on September 9 also released four Arakanese youths who were detained for two years under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, on suspicion of having illicit links to the Arakan Army. 

“We have nothing to do with the Arakan Army. I am very saddened by this arrest. There are still many detainees like us in prison and I want them released,” said 19-year-old Ko Zaw Naing Win, who was one of the four Arakanese youths released on Thursday. 

Four residents of Laung Chaung village in Ann Township were arrested and sued under Section 50(j) of the Counter-Terrorism Law on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army following a military raid on the village in October 2019. 

The four locals have been facing two charges under the Counter-Terrorism Law, and their case has been delayed due to a court order not being issued, said Ko Myo Lwin, a resident of Ann. 

“They have been found not guilty by the court, but the case has been delayed for the past three months as the district judge has been barred from prosecuting them. They are innocent people. This is what happened a month after they were arrested on suspicion of having a connection with the Arakan Army,” he explained. 

The Anti-Terrorism Central Committee announced that the Arakan Army and United League of Arakan (ULA) were designated as terrorist groups and unlawful associations on March 23, 2020, with the approval of the previous union government. Less than a year later, the Anti-Terrorism Central Committee announced on March 11, 2021, that it had removed the AA from the terrorist group list. 

Since then, the military council has withdrawn some of the cases prosecuted under the Counter-Terrorism Law in Arakan State. 

Seventeen cases of children under the age of 18 who were arrested on suspicion of illicit AA ties were dropped by the military regime in May of this year. 

The Arakan State Administration Council has said the government is working to drop more cases filed under the Counter-Terrorism Law. A spokesman for Arakan State’s military government said there were more than a dozen cases to be dropped: six in Kyauktaw Township, one each from Ponnagyun, Rathedaung, Minbya and Ann, and two each from Sittwe and Kyaukphyu townships, for a total of 14 cases and 35 accused. 

Daw San Thar Nu, the mother of Ko Oo Hla Maung, 24, of Lekka village in Mrauk-U Township, who is facing two charges under the Counter-Terrorism Law, said she hoped her son’s would be included in the cases to be dropped. 

“I want my son’s case to be dropped, as criminal cases are being dropped. What I have been waiting for since the beginning of this month is nothing special. The case has been going on for months and years,” she said. 

More than 200 people were arrested and charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law after being accused of associating with the AA during some two years of fighting in Arakan State, according to data from the Thazin Legal Institute.