Court grants bail to child charged under Counter-terrorism Law

By Min Tun 27 Aug 2019

Min Tun | DMG
August 27, Sittwe

A Mrauk-U court on August 27 granted bail to Soe Moe Kyaw from Pyine Cha village in Mrauk-U township because he is under 18, nearly five months after he was detained on a Counter-terrorism Law charge.

The Thazin Legal Aid supporting group said that Soe Moe Kyaw was bailed out by two people, with his parents’ house and a land offer as collateral.

“He will have to come to court as a defendant and be questioned there. That means we decided not to keep him in the jail,” said senior lawyer U Aye Tun Maung, who is helping with the case.
Sittwe Court decided on August 15 to transfer Soe Moe Kyaw’s case to Mrauk-U Township’s child custody court.

Daw Khaing Shwe Than, mother of Soe Moe Kyaw, said that she has arranged for her son to resume his education.

“It is difficult for him after five months out of school. But we have planned to send him back to school,” she said.

Soe Moe Kyaw was one of 24 villagers arrested in April following fighting between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army (AA) near Lekar village in Mrauk-U Township. He will next appear in court on September 10.

According to a Tatmadaw news release, 27 suspected people were arrested in Lekar village on April 10. The release said the AA soldiers had entered the village after Tatmadaw and the AA had been fighting near the village.

Three of the villagers died during questioning, the Tatmadaw said, adding that the deaths were due to sickness, suicide by hanging and drug withdrawals. However, the relatives of the deceased have rejected those explanations.