Junta charges dozens of detained Sittwe Twsp villagers 

By Admin 11 Jun 2024

DMG Newsroom
11 June 2024, Sittwe

Of dozens of people detained from Sittwe Township’s Byaing Phyu Village, 38 were reportedly charged under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act and Section 188 of the Penal Code on June 9.

Fifty Byaing Phyu villagers were handed over to Sittwe’s No. 1 police station. Among them, eight were sued under Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act and 30 were charged under Section 188 of the Penal Code, according to sources close to the police station.

“It is not yet known under which section the regime has filed a case against the remaining 12. It is not yet clear who the accused are. They are held on remand on further investigation,” said the source.

Junta soldiers took about 100 Byaing Phyu villagers to the military’s Sittwe-based Light Infantry Battalion No. 20 following a massacre in Byaing Phyu late last month. The detained Byaing Phyu villagers were handed over to police and charged by the regime after about two weeks in detention.

DMG continues to investigate the names and other details of the accused.

Section 188 of the Penal Code states that anyone who violates a government directive or order may be sentenced to imprisonment for a period of one to six months, or face a fine.

Section 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act stipulates that the offender shall be punished with imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than three years, as well as a fine.

The regime reportedly released 47 detained Byaing Phyu villagers on June 8.

“Three members of my family were among those arrested and they were not among those released by the regime. We don’t know if they are still detained or have been beaten to death. We are worried about their safety,” said a Byaing Phyu villager.

Around 170 junta troops, members of Arakan Liberation Party/Arakan Liberation Army (ALP/ALA) and Muslim conscripts raided Byaing Phyu Village on May 29, detaining anyone they could find, including children.

They allegedly slaughtered dozens of men and raped some women. According to the Arakkha Army (AA), a total of 76 civilians were killed in the Byaing Phyu massacre.

The regime and ALP/ALA have denied involvement in the massacre in Byaing Phyu Village, saying the allegations are false.

The surviving Byaing Phyu villagers were forced out of the village on May 30 and 31. A total of 1,588 displaced villagers are taking shelter at seven monasteries in Sittwe Town and are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Regime forces are currently stationed in Byaing Phyu Village.