Publisher of Rakhita calendar walks free after serving sentence

By Hnin Nwe 23 Nov 2020

Hnin Nwe | DMG
23 November 2020, Sittwe

An Ayeyarwady Region man was released from prison on November 23 after completing his sentence on charges of unlawful association and illegal publication of a controversial calendar, the freed man and his family said.

Ko Thein Aung Myat and three other men were sentenced to two years in prison under the Unlawful Associations Act in November 2019, and the former faced additional prosecution adding six months to his sentence on law provisions pertaining to illegal publication. The three other men were released on July 27 of this year.

“While my husband was in prison, our family faced a lot of difficulties. We had asked organisations for help and we got nothing and my husband was put in jail,” said Ko Thein Aung Myat’s wife Ma Moe Thandar.

“Now, he is freed and we are very happy,” she added.

Ko Thein Aung Myat told DMG that he was a victim of injustice, saying the prosecution had failed to present evidence of the alleged wrongdoing, which included accusations that he had illegal ties to the Arakan Army (AA).

“If there is some evidence of contact with the AA, we could accept. Now, there is no evidence and it was just said that there was some sort of involvement to put me in jail. It was totally not worth spending time in prison,” he said.

Police arrested Ko Thein Aung Myat, Ko Kaung Myat Thu, Ko Bo San and Ko Win Bo in the Ayeyarwady Region town of Haingyi Kyun on April 6, 2019, while they were selling the offending “Rakhita” calendars, which sparked trouble for the four men because “Arakan Army Day” was a noted date on them.

Ayeyarwady Region’s Ngaputaw Township Court sentenced the four men to two years in prison each on November 18, 2019, under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act.

The court added six months to Ko Thein Aung Myat’s sentence on an illegal publication charge, and he was released after serving his full, remitted sentence on Monday.