Junta courts hand down prison terms for seven Arakan residents prosecuted for AA ties

By Admin 21 Sep 2023

DMG Newsroom
21 September 2023, Sittwe
 
Seven people arrested on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA) during renewed conflict in Arakan State have been sentenced to prison in recent days.
 
The accused have been sentenced to prison under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act, Section 505(a) of the Penal Code and Section 21(a) of the Arms Act after prolonged trials.
 
Among the accused sentenced by the military regime are two each from Sittwe and Kyauktaw townships and one each from Minbya, Ponnagyun and Ann townships.
 
U Ba Thein from Byainephyu Village and U Hsawlain from Thetkelpyin Village in Sittwe Township were sentenced to two years in prison by the Sittwe Township Court under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code on September 11.
 
U Tin Aung Myint, chairman of a local cooperative syndicate in Ann Township, and Ko Thein Zaw, a local man from Hngetyekauk Village in Minbya Township, were sentenced to two years in prison under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act on September 13.
 
The Kyauktaw Township Court sentenced U Kyaw Than Maung, a resident of Paungtoke Village, and Ko Zaw Moe Htet, a local man from Panphechaung Village in Kyauktaw, to two years in prison under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code on September 15.
 
“There is no justice in sentencing them to prison without guilt. They are not affiliated with the AA,” said Ma Nyo Nyo, the sister of Ko Zaw Moe Htet.
 
Ko Zaw Moe Htet is an employee at a local company and U Kyaw Than Maung is a three-wheeled motorbike driver, family members say.
 
The Sittwe District Court sentenced Ko Myat Thura Tun, a man from Minkan Village in Ponnagyun Township, to seven years in prison under Section 21(a) of the Arms Act on September 18.
 
“It is completely unfair that he has been sentenced to a long prison term. My husband is not related to any armed groups. Now he has been unjustly sentenced to prison,” said Daw Oo Ma Nyunt, the wife of Ko Myat Thura Tun.
 
Ko Myat Thura Tun has been charged with incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, with the next hearing in the case before the Sittwe Township Court scheduled for September 28.
 
“Some people facing trial have been sentenced to prison by the regime in recent days, but it is not a good move. Whether it is the junta or the judiciary, these people should be released instead of being sentenced to prison if we are to move in the direction of peace in Arakan State,” said a former political prisoner in Arakan State.
 
More than 60 Arakan State residents charged under the Unlawful Associations Act for alleged ties to the AA were released in a regime mass amnesty on August 2.
 
It has been more than 10 months since the Myanmar military and the AA observed an informal ceasefire on humanitarian grounds in late November. People arrested on suspicion of having a connection to the AA should be released during the ceasefire, politicians have said.
 
According to a DMG tally, a total of 128 people are still on trial across Arakan State for charges under Section 17 (1) and (2) of the Unlawful Associations and/or Section 505(a) of the Penal Code.