TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
More people sentenced to death by court-martial in Myanmar
The military has intensified its crackdown on protesters and others opposed to its rule following a February coup. Nineteen people were sentenced to death by court-martial last week for the killing of an associate of an army officer in the largest city Yangon.
Change Size
Police personnel stand guard during a demonstration by supporters of detained Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu in front of a court house in Yangon on November 3, 2020. Wirathu, a hardline Buddhist monk turned himself in November 2, after 18 months on the run -- and less than a week before Myanmar's national elections -- a move analysts described as a bid to (AFP/Sai Aung Main)
M
yanmar's state-run television reported Tuesday night that seven people had been sentenced to death by court-martial for their roles in the killing of a woman who purportedly cooperated with the military.
The military has intensified its crackdown on protesters and others opposed to its rule following a February coup. Nineteen people were sentenced to death by court-martial last week for the killing of an associate of an army officer in the largest city Yangon.
The seven either committed or aided in the killing of the woman on March 15 in an area of Yangon where martial law has been declared, according to the report. She had purportedly leaked information about protesters and others.
Nineteen others were sentenced to three to seven years in prison for their roles in the case. The sentences were dated Monday.
In areas where martial law has been declared, serious crimes are tried by court-martial, with the maximum penalty being death. No appeals are permitted.
Security forces had killed 714 people in Myanmar as of Tuesday since the military seized power, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which monitors the situation in the Southeast Asian country.
Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, warned in a statement on Tuesday that Myanmar is heading toward a "full-blown conflict."
"States with influence need to urgently apply concerted pressure on the military in Myanmar to halt the commission of grave human rights violations and possible crimes against humanity," she said.
Myanmar has entered a traditional new year holiday period since Tuesday. But the country was not in a celebratory mood, with young people calling on others to shun celebrations and instead pray for those killed in the military's bloody campaign against protesters.
The holiday continues until next Monday.
