Court finishes questioning of five Kyaukseik villagers charged on suspicion of AA ties

By DMG 02 Feb 2022

DMG Newsroom
2 February 2022, Ponnagyun 

Questioning has concluded for five people from Kyaukseik village and nearby in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, who have been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law on suspicion of illegal ties to the Arakan Army, according to a lawyer for the defendants. 

Ko Myo Lin Oo and Ko Nyi Nyi Aung were examined on January 19 and the remaining three accused were examined on February 2. 

“Defence witnesses will be examined on February 9. There are 13 defence witnesses for all five of them,” said lawyer U Kyaw Nyunt Maung. 

The five have been charged under Sections 50(j) and 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law at the Sittwe District Court. 

A total of 38 people from Kyaukseik village and its vicinity were detained by the military on April 19, 2020. Thirty-three were subsequently released but the other five remained in custody and a case was brought against them by Captain Tint Naing Tun from Light Infantry Battalion No. 505, based in Ponnagyun town. 

Daw Ni Ni, the mother of Ko Nyi Nyi Aung, said: “They do not affiliate with any [illegal] organisation. I want them released.” 

A video of the five villagers being beaten during interrogation by soldiers on board a boat during their detention was shared widely on social media in May 2020. That same month, the military announced that it would take legal action against those among its ranks who had tortured the five detainees in the video.  

But the rare admission of misconduct by its personnel did not stop the military from moving forward with prosecuting the victims of the abuse. The charges against them carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.  

The military junta that seized power on February 1, 2021, has withdrawn some terrorism cases since it de-listed the Arakan Army as a terrorist organisation on March 11 of last year. But notable cases, such as that of the Kyaukseik villagers, have not yet been dropped.