Four people including seller of Rakhita calendar sent to Pathein jail

By Min Tun 23 Apr 2019

Min Tun/ DMG

April 23, Sittwe

Four people who have been arrested for selling the Rakhita calendar were sent to Pathein prison in Ayeyarwady Region on April 23, said the wife of the man who published the calendar.

Four people including Ko Thein Aung Myat were detained by police on April 6 while they were selling copies of the Rakhita calendar in a village in Haigyi Island Township, in Ayeyarwady Region of south-west Myanmar. The calendar was distributed previous years across Rakhine State.

They were arrested for including the date of the establishment of the Arakan Army in the calendar so they were accused of having an unlawful association with the AA. Their first court hearing was on April 22 at the Ngapudaw Township court in Ayeyarwady Region, said Ma Moe Thanda Khin, wife of Ko Thein Aung Myat, the publisher of the calendar.

“I was told a police department has charged them, but I don’t know exactly. They were charged with having unlawful affiliation,” she said.

Their next court hearing is scheduled for April 29 and they should know if they will be granted bail or not on that day, she added.

Many people in Rakhine State were arrested under section 17 (1) of Unlawful Association Act accusing people of having connections with the AA.