Thandwe GAD employee sentenced to two years in prison for incitement

By Admin 10 Jul 2023

DMG Newsroom
10 July 2023, Thandwe

A senior clerk from the General Administration Department in Thandwe, Arakan State, has reportedly been sentenced to two years in prison under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, an incitement provision commonly used by the military regime to stifle dissent since its 2021 takeover.

The GAD employee has been identified as Ko Win Maung Maung Phyo, and the verdict was handed down on July 7.

“My husband was sentenced to two years in prison under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code. He was arrested on his way to the office. I was allowed to meet him 10 days after he was transferred to the police station,” Ma Hnin Ei Ei Lin, the wife of Ko Win Maung Maung Phyo, told DMG.

The military’s Ngapali-based Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) No. 55 abducted Ko Win Maung Maung Phyo, a clerk from the GAD, and U Aung Kyaw Win, managing director of Pyae Phyo Thandar Construction Co., in Thandwe on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA) on October 7, 2022.

An army officer from LIB No. 55 filed lawsuits against the duo under Section (1) of the Unlawful Associations Act and Section 505(a) of the Penal Code.

Ko Phyo Maung Maung has already been sentenced to two years in prison under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code, but faces trial under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act.

“He is still facing a charge under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act. The next hearing has been scheduled for July 21. He is a civil servant and has no ties to any organisation,” Ma Hnin Ei Ei Lwin added.

DMG continues to pursue leads regarding further information about U Aung Kyaw Win, who was arrested along with Ko Win Maung Maung Phyo.

According to a DMG tally, the regime detained around 50 people in the latest period of fighting between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army, charging many of them under the Unlawful Associations Act, or with incitement under Section 505 of the Penal Code.

Among those detained and charged by the regime are local residents, activists and civil servants.

“The regime arrested several civil servants on suspicion of having links with the Arakan Army and charged them with various counts. I see that the junta arrested and jailed him [Ko Win Maung Maung Phyo] because he was an Arakanese man,” said U Myat Tun, director of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association.

Ko Nyi Lay Gyi and Ko Khin Maung Aye, members of the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), and Arakanese composer Ko San Ko were charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act in Thandwe in 2022.