Hearing postponed due to no-show plaintiff in Kyaukphyu villagers’ incitement trial

By DMG 23 Sep 2022

DMG Newsroom
23 September 2022, Kyaukphyu 

The plaintiff in the case of two youths who have been detained in Kyaukphyu Prison to face trial on incitement charges could not attend a court hearing on Thursday due to security issues, according to a lawyer involved. 

The accused have been identified as Ko Sai Wunna Kyaw and Maung Tun Tun Zaw, a university student. They were arrested on June 24 on suspicion of having links with the Arakan Army (AA), reportedly on the basis of content found on their mobile phones, and were subsequently charged with incitement under Section 505(a) of the Penal Code. 

The accused and plaintiff were scheduled to appear before the Kyaukphyu Township Court at a hearing on Thursday, but proceedings were put off until the next court hearing on October 6 after the plaintiff failed to appear, lawyer Daw Thandar told DMG. 

“The plaintiff did not appear in court due to security reasons, so the judge could not hear the case. The court scheduled the next hearing for October 6,” the lawyer added. 

Win Zaw Tun, head of the Sanae town police station, filed a lawsuit against the two youths. The brother of Ko Sai Wunna Kyaw said the defendants have grievances because Thursday’s no-show by the plaintiff was his fourth.  

“The plaintiff was absent from Thursday’s court hearing due to security reasons. We want to urge the concerned officials to speed up the legal proceedings because we have to spend around K100,000 to attend a court hearing,” he told DMG. 

Twenty-year-old Maung Tun Tun Zaw was planning to attend university this academic year. According to a family member who maintains that Maung Tun Tun Zaw is innocent, the student’s future is at stake as the trial threatens to derail his education plans. 

“He [Maung Tun Tun Zaw] has been unjustly accused and arrested. Now he can’t go to school, which affects his education. I want them released as soon as possible,” the family member said. 

According to data compiled by DMG, from June to September 21, 62 of those arrested by the Myanmar military in Arakan State and Paletwa Township, Chin State, for AA-related alleged offences have not yet been released. 

Some detainees have been charged with various counts, and some have been unable to contact their families for months.