Two Kyaukphyu villagers face terror charges after lengthy spell incommunicado

By Aung Htein 18 Aug 2020

Aung Htein | DMG
18 August, Kyaukphyu 

Two residents of Zin Chaung village in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu Township have been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, according to family members of the detainees. 

Ko Maung Aye Naing, 37, and Ko Win Naing, 27, were charged under Section 50(a) and Section 52(j) of the Counter-Terrorism Law, and the duo were held on remand by the Kyaukphyu Township Court for the second time, their family members said following a court hearing on August 17. 

Commenting on the charges against the two men, U Tin Hlaing Oo, a lawyer representing the detainees, said: “The accused were held on remand by the township court and the lawsuit opened against the two detainees will likely be changed. They duo would be charged after a two-week detention on remand.” 

A total of four people from Zin Chaung village were arrested by a contingent of military and police personnel at about 4 a.m. on July 7. Two of the four detainees were released from a police station on the same day, but Ko Maung Aye Naing and Ko Win Naing have been held in military custody since then. 

The detainees were unable to make contact with family members for three weeks and they were transferred to Kyaukphyu Myoma police station and charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law by the military this month. 

Ko Maung Aye Naing and Ko Win Naing sustained injuries from allegedly being beaten in military custody, said Ko Than Naing, a family member of Ko Maung Aye Naing. 

“I think they were brutally tortured and beaten in military detention because I saw injuries on their faces and noses at the court hearing on August 17,” he added. 

The court fixed the next hearing date for August 28, with family members of the detainees previously imploring authorities to ensure that the accused are afforded due process under the law. 

The number of people detained for alleged links to the Arakan Army has risen to about 50 in Arakan State’s Kyaukphyu and Thandwe districts, according to a list compiled by DMG, despite there being relatively few hostilities between military personnel and the ethnic armed group in the area.