Junta charges four Maungdaw men under Unlawful Associations Act

By DMG 19 Oct 2022

DMG Newsroom
19 October 2022, Maungdaw 

Two detainees and two others who have thus far evaded arrest in Arakan State’s Maungdaw were charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act at the Maungdaw Myoma police station on October 16, according to the accused. 

The regime has filed a lawsuit against U Chit Htoo Khaing, chairman of the Garuna Network, a local charity in Maungdaw; U Hla Thein, a treasurer for the charity; U Nyi Pu, a resident of Kanyintan Ward; and U Tun Lin Kyaw aka Nyi Nyi, an owner of the KNN purified drinking water factory in Ward-4, under Section 17(1) of Unlawful Associations Act. 

U Chit Htoo Khaing and U Nyi Pu are currently in hiding. 

“We were reportedly sued under Section 17(1) of Unlawful Associations Act. We don’t know why we were charged because we have no knowledge of it,” said one of the accused. 

U Hla Thein, treasurer of the Garuna Network and a resident of Maungdaw’s Wimala Ward, and U Tun Lin Kyaw aka Nyi Nyi were abducted by the military on the evening of October 14. 

The two men were reportedly taken to a local Border Guard Force camp and were subsequently charged under the Unlawful Associations Act, said a resident of Myoma Ashae Ward. 

DMG was unable to obtain comment from the Maungdaw Myoma police station and Major-General Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for Myanmar’s military regime, regarding the matter. 

The office of Garuna Network in Maungdaw was closed temporarily on October 15 following the military’s targeting of its members. 

The regime has imposed travel restrictions and made a series of civilian arrests amid renewed fighting between the military and Arakan Army in Arakan State. Fierce clashes between the military and AA have been ongoing, and resultant civilian casualties are on the rise.