Court examines defence witness in case of Kyaukseik villagers accused of terrorism

By DMG 03 Mar 2022

DMG Newsroom
3 March 2022, Ponnagyun 

Five men from Kyaukseik village and its vicinity in Arakan State’s Ponnagyun Township, who have been accused of having illegal ties to the Arakan Army (AA), appeared before the Sittwe District Court on Thursday, according to a lawyer involved. 

“A defence witness was examined during the court hearing. The court scheduled the next hearing for March 17. The defence witness testified that the defendant was innocent,” U Kyaw Nyunt Maung, a lawyer, told DMG. 

The five defendants, from Ponnagyun Township’s Kyaukseik village and the surrounding area, were arrested on April 19, 2020. They have been charged by Captain Tint Naing Tun from the military’s Ponnagyun-based Battalion No. 550 under Sections 50(j) and 52(a) of the Counter-Terrorism Law. 

The five men are Ko Nyi Nyi Aung, Ko Aung Myo Lin, and Ko Maung Chay, all 24 years old and from Kyaukseik village; Ko Min Soe, 38, from Ponnagyun town; and Ko Kyaw Win Hein, 22, from Zeebingyi village in Mrauk-U Township. 

Daw Khin Nyunt Yee, a defence witness and the mother of Ko Kyaw Win Hein, told DMG that she was asked about whether her son was affiliated with the Arakan Army during Thursday’s court hearing. 

“I was asked why Ko Kyaw Win Hein visited Kyaukseik village and if he was related to the Arakan Army. I replied that my son has no links to the Arakan Army and that he is innocent,” she said. 

A video of the five villagers being beaten during interrogation by Myanmar military soldiers on board a boat was shared widely on social media in May of 2020. 

In a February 12 gesture marking Union Day, Myanmar’s military regime released more than 40 people who were detained and had been facing trial on charges related to alleged AA affiliations, but the Kyaukseik five were not among them.