Family demands swift trial for Kyauktaw man charged with unlawful association

By Admin 10 Nov 2023

DMG Newsroom
10 November 2023, Kyauktaw

The case against a local man from Apaukwa Village, part of Arakan State’s Kyauktaw Township, who was arrested on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA) and charged under Section 17(1) of Unlawful Association, has not reportedly been examined for about one year.

The accused has been identified as 39-year-old Ko Maung Thet Soe aka Ko Maung Chay. The plaintiff in the case against him has failed to appear at court hearings a total of 27 times, according to family members of the accused.

The plaintiff failed to show up for the latest court hearing on November 9, and the hearing has been rescheduled for November 23. Family members of the accused have called for a swift trial as they face financial difficulties and livelihood hardships.

“We want to call for an immediate trial in the case against him. We want him released as soon as possible if he is not guilty. We are facing financial difficulties and are struggling to make ends meet. We even can’t [afford to] go to the court hearings,” said Ma Yu Yu Wai, the wife of Ko Maung Thet Soe.

Ko Maung Thet Soe and U Hla Maung Than, a rice mill owner from Kardi Village in Kyauktaw Township, were arrested by the military’s Kansauk Village-based Light Infantry Battalion No. 539 on October 2, 2022.

The two men were transferred to Sittwe’s No.1 police station on November 20 of last year. They were charged under Section 17(1) of Unlawful Association on December 6 and remanded at the Sittwe Township Court.

The regime filed another charge against U Hla Maung Than under Section 131 of the Penal Code for allegedly abetting mutiny, but he was released in a junta amnesty on August 2. Ko Maung Thet Soe remains behind bars inside Sittwe Prison.

A former Arakan State lawmaker for Kyauktaw Township said that the repeated postponement of the trials of those charged with suspicion of AA ties shows that the military regime’s judiciary is unable to carry out even basic functions, such as compelling witnesses and plaintiffs to appear in court.

“The junta’s courts have postponed many trials, often citing the absence of plaintiffs and prosecution witnesses. Family members of the accused want swift trials for those charged on suspicion of having links with the AA. I see that these [failures of due process] should not happen. It shows how much the judiciary of the military council has diminished,” the ex-legislator added.

There are 128 people in Arakan State who were charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act or Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, according to a DMG tally.