Prosecution team fails to appear at trial

13 Jul 2019

Min Tun | DMG

13 July, Sittwe

Men from Pan Myaung village in Minbya Township and Myo Chaung village in Mrauk-U Township have been charged under the Counter-Terrorism law, but the prosecution did not turn up in the Sittwe district court at their first trial on 12 July.

Maung Myint Hlaing, U Khin Maung, Ko Kyaw Aye Maung and Ko Soe Win Naing were arrested by a military troop on 19 March, their families said.

Three of them apart from Ko Soe Win Naing have been charged under section 50 (a) and 52 (a) of the Counter-Terrorism law. Ko Soe Win Naing has been charged under section 50 (a) and 54 of the Counter-Terrorism laws.

Since the plaintiff and prosecution witness failed to appear in court, U Kyaw Nyunt Maung, lawyer for Ko Soe Win Naing, said what the court told them. “The court said that the plaintiff and one prosecution witness were summoned. The witness is from Minbya Township. Police informed the court that they summoned the witness and plaintiff by phone to appear at court but they did not contact to the police. So, the prosecution did not appear in court,” he said.

The Sittwe district court scheduled the next court hearing for 26 July the plaintiff and two prosecution witness on 26 July.

The Tatmadaw arrested the four villagers on suspicion of involvement with the Arakan Army. Captain Htein Lin Maw from No. 380 Light Infantry Regiment in Minbya Township has prosecuted them.

In his complaint, he accused the four villagers of being members of the AA, a soldier was killed and a child was injured when they resisted a military column and one member of the AA fled, the lawyer U Kyaw Nyunt Maung said.

Maung Myint Hlaing is suffering from a mental illness and Ko Soe Win Naing is a goldsmith, so the complaints are not consistent with actual events, the lawyer said.

The four accused said at the court hearing on 28 June that they were not members of the AA and they were forced into doing labour by a military troop.

Currently, over 90 people have been arrested under suspicion of being member of the AA in Arakan State.  The Tatmadaw True News Information Team said in its press conference on 22 June that 36 of the detained villagers are under interrogation, 45 of them have been charged and 3 of them have already been given punishments.