Yangon, May (21)
Political prisoners detained for various reasons for opposing the military coup have now been sentenced to death up to three times in addition to the death penalty and life in prison for the crimes charged by the military council.
According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), as of May 19, there are 112 detainees who have been sentenced to death in connection with the Spring Revolution.
According to AAPP, 156 people have been sentenced to death, with 42 of them receiving their death sentences in absentia.
On May 18, a special court in Insein Prison sentenced five young men to death and life imprisonment, respectively, said the AAPP.
Those five young men were arrested in September 2021 and accused of shooting at the security police on the Yangon circular train in August.
U Than Soe Naing, a political analyst, remarked, “The military council has made a commitment to hold elections to move on the path of democracy. In order to fully implement that commitment, the military council is taking action against the PDFs and those involved in the revolutionary forces. The junta is trying to punish those who participated in the spring revolution because they think that they will be able to achieve political escape in this way”.
According to AAPP, there are 186 people who have been sentenced to life imprisonment and at least nine people who have been sentenced to death and life imprisonment, some of whom have been sentenced to multiple charges.
Seven of them have been sentenced to additional prison terms ranging from 3 to 10 years, including death sentences, while five have received at least three death sentences.
Along with the death penalty, four people have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from three to more than 200 years.
A lawyer said that the entire legal process needs to be reviewed for death penalty sentences, and only after doing so can the punishment be fair and just.
The junta executed democracy activists Ko Jimmy, Ko Phyo Zeyar Thaw, Ko Hla Myo Aung, and Ko Aung Thu Ra Zaw on July 23rd and 24th last year.
The military council’s brutal acts drew criticism from the international community, including the United Nations, and the military leaders and entities were sanctioned by Western countries.
But the military council has been cracking down on anyone who tried to oppose them in the more than two years since the Spring Revolution, with death sentences and other punishments.
News – Than Lwin Times
Photo- CJ