Myanmar protesters sentenced

New research by Amnesty International shows that at least 40 protesters, including seven monks, have been given prison sentences in the six months after the authorities violently suppressed demonstrations in Myanmar. The details of those sentences are below:

September 2007 – 5 sentences

• On 25 September, NLD member U Pike Ko and four other residents of Pakokku, were sentenced to long prison terms under Section 6(1) of the Public Property Protection Act of 1947. They had been arrested on suspicion of passing information to foreign media, but charged with damaging public property. The five were brought before the Thayet prison court.

• On 1 October, Ko Kyauk Khe (also known as Ko Aung San Oo), NLD member in Magwe Division, was sentenced to two years imprisonment under Section 505(b) of the penal code for making statements conducing to public mischief" in late September. This was the maximum sentence for this particular offence. He reportedly shouted a pro-Buddhist slogan in a local video house after watching footage of the crackdown on foreign media, and made further political statements during his trial.
• On 1 October, Aye Cho, NLD member in Mandalay Division, was given a six-year prison sentence under Section 505(b) of the penal code for making a statement which could cause public alarm or incite an offence. He is reported to have made accusations against Union Solidarity and Development Association officials the previous day.
• On 10 October, U Ithiriya, 28, a monk from Sittatukha monastery in Sittwe, Rakhine State, was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for his role as a leader in the September demonstrations.
• On 11 October, Ko Soe Win, a Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Group member in Rakhine State, was sentenced to four years imprisonment under Sections 295A and 505(b) of the penal code for insulting religion and creating a public disturbance. In the wake of the authorities' violent attack on monks in Pakokku on 5 September, he held a placard outside the town market calling for the release of political detainees and the expulsion of Sr. Gen. Than Shwe from the Buddhist faith. On 24 October, however, he was reportedly retried and released.
• During the week of 14-21 October, Shwe Pain, NLD member from Sagaing Division, was sentenced to two years imprisonment under Section 505(b) of the penal code for causing public alarm or disturbing state tranquillity.
• During the week of 14-21 October, Kyaw Khine, a chair of the NLD in Rakhine State, was sentenced to seven years and six months imprisonment for participation in the September protests. He was reported to have been released on 24 October.
• During the week of 14-21 October, Tun Kyi and Than Pe, senior NLD members in RakhineState, were sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for participation in the September protests. They were reportedly released on 24 October.
• On 16 October, Ko Htay Naing Lin and Ko Chan Aung, Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Group members from Sagaing Division, were sentenced to two years imprisonment under Section 505(b) of the penal code for causing public alarm or disturbing state tranquillity. They assisted with the protests in late September.
• On 17 October, Min Aung, 35, a joint-secretary of the NLD in Rakhine State, was sentenced to nine years and six months imprisonment. His sentence was reported to have been reduced to either seven and a half years or two and a half years.
• On 18 October, Sein Kyaw, 75, a chair of the NLD in Rakhine State, was sentenced to five years in prison. He was reportedly freed the next day.
• On or around 18 October, a monk in RakhineState was sentenced to prison for taking part in pro-democracy activities.
• On 18 October, Myint Kyi, member of the NLD and people's parliament, and Zaw Min, NLD member, both from Sagaing Division, were sentenced to two years imprisonment under Section 505(b) of the penal code for causing public alarm or disturbing state tranquillity.

• On 7 November, Thet Oo, 39, Zaw Htun, 34, and U Myint Aye, all members of the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Group in Bago Division, as well as monk U Pannihtha, were sentenced to two years imprisonment under either Section 5(j) of the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act or Section 505(b) of the penal code for acting with intent "to affect the morality or conduct of the public or a group of people in a way that would undermine the security of the Union or the restoration of law and order." They took part in the September protests, distributed materials, and spoke to the media. An appeal filed on their behalf was rejected in early January 2008.
• On 9 November, Nay Win , a deputy chair of the NLD in Kachin State, and U Ba Myint, 68, a deputy NLD chair, were sentenced to two years imprisonment under section 505(b) of the penal code for causing public alarm and inciting offences against public tranquillity. They were reported to have been tried secretly and without lawyers in prison courts.
• On or just before 16 November,Nyunt Aung was sentenced to two years in Shwebo prison.
• On 28 November, U Khin Hla, 60, a secretary of the NLD in Rakhine State, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison under penal code Sections 427, 506, and 294, covering property damage, criminal intimidation, and obscenity respectively. The sentence comprised the cumulative maximum under each section. He was one of a group of NLD members who started a demonstration on 4 September 2007 by marching to the police station to demand information on two activists who had been arrested the previous week. The charges under which he was sentenced, however, were brought by his sister following a family dispute; she later tried to withdraw them but was told by officials that it was too late.
• In late November, U Zantila, abbot of Zantila Rama monastery, was sentenced to two years in prison for defamation of the government after writing a letter of complaint about the seizure of money from the monastery during a raid by the authorities. He was reportedly disrobed by the authorities.

• On 5 December, Ko Win Maung, a government village secretary from Rakhine State, was originally sentenced to nine and a half years in prison under Sections 143 and 505(b) of the penal code for giving an anti-government speech to the people he was assigned to monitor during the September protests. His sentence was later reduced to two and a half years, and he was sent to Kyaukpru prison.
• On 18 December, Win Myint, an NLD member, was sentenced to three years in prison for the alleged possession of a nine-inch knife. He had previously resisted the government's request to resign from the NLD. He was unable to hire a lawyer due to the short amount of time between his arrest and trial.
• On 21 December, Shwe Thway was sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment, while Ko Zaw Gyi and Ko Yazay were sentenced to two years, for giving water to protesting monks in September. They are residents of Sagaing Division, and reportedly were not otherwise politically active or affiliated.

• U Kitharihya, a monk from Sittwe's Seikthathukhah monastery in RakhineState, was sentenced to seven years and six months imprisonment under Sections 143, 505(b) and 6 of the penal code.
• U Kawmala, 67, a monk from Sittwe's Adithan monastery in RakhineState, was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment under Sections 143 and 295 of the penal code.
• U Wunnathiri, 23, a monk from Sittwe's Yadana Bonmyay monastery in RakhineState, was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
• Ko Aung Naing Soe, 22, was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison under Sections 143 and 505(b) of the penal code. He is from Rakhine State.
• Ko Aung Naing, 32, was sentenced to two years and three months.
• Ko Thiha, a youth member of the NLD in Mandalay Division, was sentenced to life imprisonment, plus two years, under Sections 124(a) and 505(b) of the penal code, covering sedition and incitement to offences against the public tranquillity respectively. He was arrested for having political leaflets.