Court set to deliver verdict in case against Arakan State philanthropist at next hearing

By DMG 28 Feb 2022

DMG Newsroom
28 February 2022, Taungup 

A final appeal in the case of philanthropist Ko Aung Win Naing from Arakan State’s Taungup town, who has been charged on suspicion of having ties to the Arakan Army (AA), was heard at a court hearing on Monday, according to one lawyer involved. 

The court has scheduled the next hearing for March 14, when a final verdict is expected, the defence lawyer U Aung Kyi Naing told DMG. 

“The court will deliver a final verdict under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act at the next hearing on March 14. A final appeal was heard during the hearing as the accused and defence witnesses were examined,” the lawyer said. 

Ko Aung Win Naing was also charged for allegedly driving an unregistered vehicle, under Section 8 of the Export and Import Law. 

Police Officer Khin Maung Than was questioned during the latest hearing in connection with the Export and Import Law, the lawyer said. 

Ko Aung Win Naing, who chairs the Moe Pyinnyar Dana Philanthropic Association, was arrested by military personnel on June 5, 2021, near Phone Nyo Taung checkpoint on the Taungup-Thandwe road in Arakan State. 

Captain Kyaw Zin Oo opened the initial case against him under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act. A traffic police officer from Taungup Myoma police station brought the additional charge against him for allegedly driving an unregistered vehicle. 

Ko Aung Win Naing is being held at the Taungup Myoma police station and his family is hoping he will be released, insisting that he has no affiliation with the Arakan Army. 

“I want him released on the day the final verdict is made. I’ve been saddened that he was arrested for [allegedly] having an affiliation with an illegal organisation. He was wrongfully arrested,” Daw Twe Tar Soe, the wife of Ko Aung Win Naing, told DMG. 

The United League of Arakan and Arakan Army (ULA/AA) were de-designated as terrorist groups by Myanmar’s military regime in March 2021, but they have not yet been officially delisted as “illegal organisations”.