Two men charged with AA-related terrorism sentenced to three years in prison

By DMG 30 Jul 2022

DMG Newsroom
30 July 2022, Sittwe

The Sittwe District Court sentenced two men from Sittwe and Rathedaung townships, who were charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army, to three years in prison on July 29, according to the defendants’ lawyer.

The pair have been identified as U Tha Zan, 42, from Sittwe Township and U Maung Bu, 36, from Rathedaung Township, said Daw Khaing Khaing Bu, the lawyer.

“The court sentenced the two men to three years in prison under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law. The judge ordered that the pre-verdict detention period be counted toward time served,” the lawyer added.

Because the two men’s trial lasted almost two years, they are expected to serve approximately one more year behind bars.

U Tha Zan and U Maung Bu were arrested at the Kyauktan checkpoint on the outskirts of Sittwe on August 12, 2020, upon returning to Ponnagyun Township via motorbike. Captain Aung Myint Myat filed a lawsuit against two men under Section 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law.

Amid growing military tensions between the Arakan Army (AA) and the Myanmar military in Arakan State, the military has handed down prison sentences to several people charged under Sections 50(j) and 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law for ties with the ethnic armed group, noted U Myat Tun, director of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association.

“The Arakan Army was disbanded as a terrorist organisation after the military coup. The military junta released some people who were arrested on suspicion of having links with the Arakan Army. Now, during the military tensions with the AA, the military has begun punishing those who had previously been charged with terrorism.”

At least 20 people from Mrauk-U, Ponnagyun and Kyaukphyu Townships were jailed under the Counter-Terrorism Law this month alone.

Former political prisoner writer Wai Hun Aung said the junta has been handing out prison terms to those accused of terrorism because of the tensions between the military and the Arakan Army (AA).

“To be frank, those who have been prosecuted due to the political situation are political prisoners, so if the political situation is good, they will be released. If the political climate is bad, it means going to jail,” he added.

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

The junta that seized power on February 1, 2021, has withdrawn some terrorism cases filed in Arakan State since the Arakan Army’s delisting.

Tensions have been running high between the military and Arakan Army, in part due to detentions on both sides and recent clashes in Maungdaw and Paletwa townships, as well as the military’s use of the court system to mete out punishment on several people accused of AA ties.