Regime issues arrest warrants for five local businessmen in Maei

By Admin 08 Mar 2023

DMG Newsroom
8 March 2023, Maei

Local police have issued an arrest warrant for five businessmen in Maei town, Arakan State, and filed a lawsuit against them under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act on suspicion of having illegal ties to the Arakan Army (AA).

The accused have been identified as U Zarni Min, a timber entrepreneur; U Tun Win, a merchant; U Maung Tun Thein, a filling station owner from Maei town’s Ward 3; U Tin Win, a guesthouse owner; and U Tin Tun, a merchant from Ward 2.

“The Taungup District Court instructed the Maei police station to issue an arrest warrant for five local businessmen due to the testimony of U Tun Kywe. This is the reason why the Maei police station informed the respective ward administrators about the arrest warrant for the men,” a ward administrator who did not wish to be named for security reasons told DMG.

U Tun Kywe is the owner of Shwe Zee Zan Co., Ltd. He was arrested on November 14, 2022, on suspicion of having links with the AA and was charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act and is currently facing trial at the Taungup District Court.

The accused have reportedly gone into hiding.

“We went into hiding on February 28 as we were informed that an arrest warrant was issued against us. I don’t know exactly why the police issued the arrest warrant for us. We are currently fleeing to safer locations,” said U Tun Win.

DMG continues to attempt to contact officials from the Maei police station to seek comment on the police’s filing of a lawsuit against the five local businessmen.

Ko San Ko, the owner of Arakan Arr Mahn bus line and a local businessman in Thandwe, is also facing trial under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act.

Some businesspeople from Sittwe were summoned to the state’s military council office in September 2022 and warned not to support the AA.

Since the first period of sustained fighting began in late 2018, the Myanmar military arbitrarily detained a total of 594 civilians; 391 were subsequently released, but 203 remain detained, said U Khaing Thukha, spokesman for the AA, at a press conference on February 27.

According to a DMG tally, the military detained around 50 people including social activists, ward and village administration, and civil servants on suspicion of having ties to the AA during the latest period of fighting between the two sides from August to late November. They were primarily charged under the Unlawful Associations Act and/or Section 505 of the Penal Code, the latter being an incitement provision.