Ousted Arakan State chief minister and cabinet colleague handed another guilty verdict

By DMG 06 Apr 2022

DMG Newsroom
6 April 2022, Sittwe

Former Arakan State Chief Minister U Nyi Pu and his subordinate municipal minister U Min Aung, facing charges under the Penal Code for alleged election-related violations, were convicted on two counts Wednesday in the latest legal troubles for the two men under Myanmar’s military regime.

A special court inside Sittwe Prison sentenced the two ex-ministers to four months in prison or a fine on April 6, U Kyaw Soe Lin, a Higher Grade Pleader with the Thazin Legal Institute, told DMG.

“The former ministers were sentenced to four months in prison or a fine of up to K50,000 by the court today. Officials from the National League for Democracy (NLD) paid the fine for them,” the lawyer added.

The ousted ministers were found guilty under Sections 130(a) and 109 of the Penal Code for allegedly aiding and abetting fraud in Myanmar’s 2020 general election, according to the lawyer, who said he did not know whether the deposed ministers would appeal Wednesday’s verdict.

The courts in post-coup Myanmar have been used as an effective means of stifling dissent.

The junta-controlled Union Election Commission announced on July 26, 2021, that the results of the 2020 general election were “annulled,” claiming the poll was marred by fraud and “was not in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Union Election Commission Law and respective Hluttaw Election Law.”

Several local and international election observers have disputed that there were any widespread election problems, however, concluding instead that the vote was largely free, fair and credible.

U Nyi Pu and four other deposed and detained NLD ministers of the pre-coup Arakan State government were also sentenced to prison terms relating to corruption charges on January 19.

The former Arakan State chief minister, as well as the state’s ousted finance minister U Kyaw Aye Thein and transport minister U Aung Kyaw Zan, were sentenced to nine years in prison in that case. U Min Aung was handed seven years and agriculture minister U Kyaw Lwin was given three years.

In October, U Nyi Pu was sentenced to two years in prison for incitement under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code.

U Min Aung was sentenced to two years and two months in prison by the Taungup Township Court on September 17 under Section 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, and Section 25 of the Natural Disaster Management Law.