Four Arakan State students get 2.5 years in prison for anti-war protest 

By DMG 16 Sep 2021

DMG Newsroom
16 September 2021, Sittwe 

The Sittwe Township Court on September 16 handed down sentences of two years and six months’ imprisonment to four students in Arakan State charged for an anti-military protest in October of last year, according to lawyers for the students. 

The students pleaded guilty at a court hearing held via video conference, said lawyer U Kyaw Nyunt Maung. 

“The court ordered both cases today [September 16]. The students admitted guilt. So, the court sentenced [them to] two years’ imprisonment for the cases charged under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code and another six months for the cases charged under Section 29 of the Natural Disaster Management Law,” he said. 

The court ordered that the students’ roughly 11 months of detention during their trial be considered time served. 

Ko Kyaw Naing Htay, Ko Oo Than Naing, Ko Myat Soe Win and Ko Kaung Tun participated in an anti-war protest on October 19, and were subsequently arrested. 

Punishing the students for their demonstration expressing the suffering of Arakan State’s people is wrong, said Ko Kyaw Min Htay, the older brother of Ko Kyaw Naing Htay. 

“The students demanded what people wanted to receive. But they were punished. I want to say the decision … is incorrect,” he said. 

U Maung Aye Tun, the father of Ko Oo Than Naing, said: “My son has not completed his university education. It is a loss of education for him as he is sentenced to imprisonment. He also suffers losses in social affairs.” 

He added: “The family has also suffered losses. I want to see him at court hearings, but their cases have been ordered via video conference, so I was sad as I did not get a chance to meet him.” 

Some students from the All Burma Federation of Student Unions who were involved in other protests against armed conflict and a months-long internet blackout in Arakan State have also been imprisoned for sedition after being charged under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code.