Myanmar courts sentence activists, monk to jail

Myanmar courts sentence activists, monk to jail
2 hrs 30 mins ago

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Courts in military-ruled Myanmar have given
long prison sentences to 13 people, including a Buddhist monk, who
were accused of planning bombings and other activities to disrupt
upcoming elections, lawyers said Thursday.

The sentencing is the first major crackdown on dissent since
campaigning officially began last week for the Nov. 7 general
elections, the first in 20 years. The ruling junta is eager to promote
the polls as a key step in a return to democracy after almost four
decades of military rule.

However, many opposition activists are already in jail or in exile,
and critics say the election rules are unfair and undemocratic.
Detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's party, which won a
landslide victory in the last elections in 1990 but was never allowed
to take power by the military, has decided to boycott this year's
vote.

Lawyer Myint Thaung said a special court inside Yangon's Insein prison
sentenced a group of 12 people, including one woman, to prison
sentences ranging from five to 23 years. He said authorities accused
them of planning bombings and activities to disrupt the elections, but
they were convicted on other charges including immigration law
violations, links with illegal organizations and possession of arms.

Another lawyer, Khin Htay Kywe, said the monk, identified as Okkantha,
was sentenced by a separate court to 15 years in prison for alleged
anti-election activities and links to illegal opposition groups.

Myint Thaung said many of his clients were unfairly charged and "there
was no proof" that they were planning bombings.

He said they are carpenters and construction workers who were arrested
in January after a construction site boss, Kyaw Zin Lin, was arrested
for allegedly planning bombings on the outskirts of Yangon.

Okkantha, a monk belonging to the ethnic Mon minority, was arrested in
January in southeastern Myanmar and was charged with violating the
Electronic Act, Printing and Publishing law and disrupting peace and
tranquility, his lawyer said. The Electronic Act, Printing and
Publishing law is a catchall statute that can be used against people
who disseminate information that the government doesn't like.

"Authorities said they seized some leaflets that called for the
release of political prisoners before the elections and were against
the 2008 constitution. Authorities also seized a computer and camera
and accused the monk of sending photos to the Mon News Agency," Khin
Htay Kywe said.

The Mon News Agency is an opposition news service that operates on the
border with Thailand. The constitution was written under military
supervision and ensures that the army will control a large number of
seats in the new parliament.

Also Thursday, a student exile group, the All Burma Federation of
Student Union, condemned the arrest of six student activists who had
called for a boycott of the elections, according to Mizzima, an
opposition website also run by exiles.

An official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to provide information to the media confirmed that six
university students were arrested earlier this month for distributing
anti-government leaflets.