Trial begins for two of five Kyaukseik villagers facing terrorism charges

By DMG 19 Jan 2022

DMG Newsroom
19 January 2022, Ponnagyun 

The Sittwe District Court on Wednesday began the trial of Ko Nyi Nyi Aung and Ko Aung Myo Lin, two of five Kyaukseik villagers in Ponnagyun Township who have been charged under the Counter-Terrorism Law, according to their lawyer U Kyaw Nyunt Maung. 

Ko Nyi Nyi Aung, Ko Aung Myo Lin, Ko Maung Chay, Ko Min Soe and Ko Kyaw Win Hein were charged under Sections 50(j) and 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law on January 12, and the remaining three accused will be examined at a court hearing on February 2, said U Kyaw Nyunt Maung. 

“Their statement at the court said they were innocent,” the lawyer added. 

Ko Nyi Nyi Aung’s mother decried the arrest of the Kyaukseik villagers. 

“They accused innocent people and opened cases against them; this is not fair,” she said. 

A total of 38 people from Kyaukseik village and its vicinity were detained by the military on April 19, 2020. Thirty-three were subsequently released but the other five remained in custody and a case was subsequently brought against them by Captain Tint Naing Tun from Light Infantry Battalion No. 505, based in Ponnagyun town. 

A video of the five villagers being interrogated by soldiers on board a boat during their detention was shared widely on social media in May 2020. That same month, the military announced that it would take legal action against those among its ranks who had tortured the five detainees in the video.  

But the rare admission of misconduct by its personnel did not stop the military from moving forward with prosecuting the victims of the abuse. The charges against them carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.  

The military junta that seized power on February 1, 2021, has withdrawn some terrorism cases since it de-listed the Arakan Army as a terrorist organisation on March 11 of last year. But notable cases, such as that of the Kyaukseik villagers in Ponnagyun Township, have not yet been dropped.