Myanmar junta says will carry out first judicial executions in decades

Myanmar’s junta will execute a former lawmaker from Aung San Suu Kyi’s social gathering and a outstanding democracy activist, each of whom had been convicted of terrorism, within the nation’s first judicial executions since 1990, a spokesman informed AFP on Friday.

4 individuals, together with former MP Phyo Zeya Thaw and democracy activist Ko Jimmy, “who had been sentenced to demise will likely be hanged based on jail procedures”, junta spokesman Zaw Min Tun informed AFP.

The junta has sentenced dozens of anti-coup activists to demise as a part of its crackdown on dissent after seizing energy final 12 months, however Myanmar has not carried out an execution for many years.

Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former lawmaker from Suu Kyi’s Nationwide League for Democracy who was arrested in November, was sentenced to demise in January for offences underneath anti-terrorism legal guidelines.

Distinguished democracy activist Kyaw Min Yu — higher often known as “Jimmy” — acquired the identical sentence from the navy tribunal.

“They continued the authorized strategy of interesting and sending a request letter for the modification of the sentence,” the spokesman mentioned.

“However the court docket rejected their attraction and request. There is no such thing as a different step after that,” he added.

Two different males, who had been convicted and sentenced to demise for killing a lady they alleged was an informer for the junta in Yangon, may also be executed, the spokesman mentioned.

No date has been set for the executions, Zaw Min Tun mentioned.

United Nations Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres condemned the junta’s resolution, calling it “a blatant violation to the fitting to life, liberty and safety of individual”, based on his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Guterres referred to as for the 2 pro-democracy activists to be launched and all the fees towards them to be dropped.

“The Secretary-Common considers that the demise penalty can’t be reconciled with full respect for the fitting to life,” Dujarric informed reporters.

“Abolition is important and fascinating for the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive growth of human rights.”

A spokesperson for Amnesty Worldwide referred to as on the junta to “instantly drop such plans and for the worldwide neighborhood to step up its efforts to intervene”.

– ‘Gas to the fireplace’ –
The junta’s resolution to “transfer in direction of executing two outstanding political leaders will likely be like pouring gasoline on the fireplace of well-liked anti-military resistance within the nation”, mentioned Phil Robertson, a deputy director at Human Rights Watch.

“Such a transfer may also result in international condemnation and cement the junta’s repute as among the many worst of the worst human rights abusers in Asia.”

Phyo Zeya Thaw had been accused of orchestrating a number of assaults on regime forces, together with a gun assault on a commuter practice in Yangon in August that killed 5 policemen.

A hip-hop pioneer whose subversive rhymes irked the earlier junta, he was jailed in 2008 for membership of an unlawful organisation and possession of overseas forex.

He was elected to parliament representing Aung San Suu Kyi’s NLD within the 2015 elections, which ushered in a transition to civilian rule.

The nation’s navy alleged voter fraud throughout elections in 2020 — which the NLD gained by a landslide — as justification for its coup on February 1 final 12 months.

Suu Kyi has been detained ever since and faces a slew of fees in a junta court docket that would see her face a jail sentence of greater than 150 years.

Kyaw Min Yu, who rose to prominence throughout Myanmar’s 1988 pupil rebellion towards the nation’s earlier navy regime, was arrested in an in a single day raid in October.

The junta issued an arrest warrant for him final 12 months, alleging he had incited unrest together with his social media posts.