Mrauk-U man sentenced to three years in prison on AA-related terrorism charge

By DMG 09 Jul 2022

DMG Newsroom
9 July 2022, Mrauk-U 

A man from Arakan State’s Mrauk-U Township, who was arrested on suspicion of having illegal ties to the Arakan Army, was sentenced to three years in prison under Section 52(a) of the Counter Terrorism Law by the Sittwe District Court on July 6, according to family members and his lawyer. 

The accused has been identified as Ko Tin Maung Soe, 25, from Phayargyi Chaungnar village in Mrauk-U Township. He was arrested on the Ponnagyun-Rathedaung road while visiting the home of a relative in Mrauk-U in March 2020. 

Lieutenant Hein Moe Aung from the Myanmar military’s Ponnagyun-based Light Infantry Battalion No. 550 filed a lawsuit against him under Sections 50(j) and 52(a) of the Counter Terrorism Law. 

Though Ko Tin Maung Soe had been facing the two terrorism charges, he was only found guilty of the latter, said Daw Khin Thet Oo, his lawyer. 

“He was sued with two charges for providing food items to the Arakan Army. But he was sentenced to three years in prison under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law,” she explained. 

Section 52(a) stipulates a sentence of three to seven years in prison for activities that “knowingly involve a terrorist group.” 

U Maung Maung Hla, the father of Ko Tin Maung Soe, told DMG that his son earns a living as a farmer. 

“The day I first heard the sentence, I was sad. When the court delivered the verdict, I felt that we were not dutiful to him [Ko Tin Maung Soe],” he said. 

In March 2020, the government declared the Arakan Army to be a terrorist group and unlawful association. But on March 11, 2021, the Anti-Terrorism Central Committee reversed course and said it had removed the AA from its list of terrorist organisations.

The military junta that seized power on February 1, 2021, has withdrawn some terrorism cases filed in Arakan State since the Arakan Army’s delisting. But several cases were not dropped, despite expectations that they would be. 

There are about 100 people facing trial in various courts on suspicion of having AA affiliations, according to Wai Hun Aung, a former political prisoner.