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Arrested for leaving home without a smartphone: Soldiers levy ludicrous charges in Ayeyarwady

November 5, 2021/in News

Tensions are running high in Ayeyarwady’s capital. After a string of assassinations, junta authorities recently put Pathein under martial law, imposing a curfew and tightening security checks for those moving around the city. In the midst of this, residents of Ayeyarwaddy Region are reporting being fined—or abducted—on grounds that reach across the spectrum of possibility. […]

Jailed 1988 veteran admitted to hospital with ‘life-threatening’ infection from wound

November 5, 2021/in News

Mya Aye’s condition has improved but doctors say it will worsen again if he is sent back to Insein Prison Jailed veteran democracy activist Mya Aye was taken to hospital with a “life-threatening” infection last month and is still there receiving treatment, his lawyer has revealed. The activist, who was a prominent leader of the […]

Arrested for leaving home without a smartphone: Soldiers levy ludicrous charges in Ayeyarwady

November 5, 2021/in News

Jailed 1988 veteran admitted to hospital with ‘life-threatening’ infection from wound

November 5, 2021/in News

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Arrested for leaving home without a smartphone: Soldiers levy ludicrous charges in Ayeyarwady

November 5, 2021/in News

In the midst of this, residents of Ayeyarwaddy Region are reporting being fined—or abducted—on grounds that reach across the spectrum of possibility.

Since the lockdown, soldiers—increasingly paranoiac in their search for those sympathetic to the region’s PDF—have begun fining residents on increasingly asinine charges. DVB has seen reports of citizens being fined for having dark skin or scars, walking the opposite direction on a one-way street, and even for not wearing shoes.

Residents from Mawlamyine Island, Bogale, Maubin, and Pathein told DVB that, amongst implausible charges, civilians had been fined K500 for wearing face masks in public, while others had been fined up to K5,000 for carrying no phone—or, indeed, for being in possession of a keyboard phone lacking internet capabilities.

“Because people are being censored, those who do not want to be harassed by the military are increasingly using keyboard phones,” a source told DVB, adding that, in Pathein, soldiers had been enforcing such fines as early as late October. “Locals say that since then, junta soldiers have also fined those using keyboard phones.”

Random spot checks of soldiers thumbing through smartphones are a common sight in post-coup Burma. To circumvent the military’s gaze, citizens have taken to carrying burner phones, more often than not fitted with fake social media accounts; necessary when having a NUG photo frame across your profile picture is enough to send you to jail.

Never to be outfoxed, the military has simply begun arresting in lieu of evidence, hoping that a confession will be gained after the event. DVB has received reports of arrests for those accused of “walking in cordoned off zones without access to a Facebook account”, as well as those merely suspected of communicating with NUG and PDF supporters. However, as the military no longer needs to make a case before taking people into custody, it is difficult to know with certainty on what basis its arrests are made.

“Locals were arrested at the scene and taken to a military interrogation center where they were tortured and beaten until [the military] found out what they wanted to know,” the source said. “Locals say they have been forced to jump like frogs and do squats, even if the information they have provided is correct. They have been detained without charge by military informants.”

DVB News

Jailed 1988 veteran admitted to hospital with ‘life-threatening’ infection from wound

November 5, 2021/in News

Mya Aye’s condition has improved but doctors say it will worsen again if he is sent back to Insein Prison

Jailed veteran democracy activist Mya Aye was taken to hospital with a “life-threatening” infection last month and is still there receiving treatment, his lawyer has revealed.

The activist, who was a prominent leader of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising and was among the first people to be detained by the military as it staged its coup on February 1, was taken from Insein Prison to an external hospital on October 11 after a wound on his ankle became infected.

The 54-year-old first noticed the infection on October 7, but he refused to be sent to the underequipped prison hospital, saying he would not be able to receive the treatment he needed there.

Then on October 10, he fainted from the infection on his way to the toilet at night and was sent to a hospital outside the prison in the afternoon of the following day, said Tinzar Oo, who visited her client on the day he was admitted.

“He wasn’t expecting for it to get this bad,” she said.

“According to the doctors, Mya Aye was very lucky that he got to the hospital in time,” she added. “He could have lost his leg or even his life if he was just a bit later. The infection he got was quite worrying. They said it was life-threatening.”

The activist did not need surgery but doctors have warned that the wound could get worse again if he goes back to prison before it has completely healed, she added.

“I was worried he would die when I saw him on October 11. He looked like he was dying. His legs were all swollen up. I wasn’t used to seeing him like that since he was always well-dressed during his court hearings,” said the lawyer.

As well as the wound on his right ankle, she added, Mya Aye had an infected lump on his thigh that needed to be popped by the doctors.

“When I saw him that day, he didn’t even talk about his wound. He just said that he was worried about the people outside,” she said.

Mya Aye faces up to a two-year prison sentence for a charge under Section 505c of the Penal Code of “inciting hate towards an ethnicity or a community”. The charge relates to an email he sent to a Chinese official seven years ago about Myanmar’s peace process.

He wrote in the email that because of government propaganda and Burmese ethnonationalism, people in Myanmar believed that China was interfering in the peace process and had backed Kokang rebels in their fight against the Myanmar military, according to his case file.

Mya Aye has been unable to attend his hearings, held at Insein Prison, because of his infection but a new hearing has been scheduled for November 22, Tinzar Oo said.

Myanmar Now News

Spring Revolution

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Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 15 to 21, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Shan State, Chin State, Rakhine State, and Kachin State from September 15th to 21st. The Military Junta committed arresting, occupying the properties, threatening by using power, and […]
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Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 8 to 14, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in the Magway Region, Shan State, Kachin State, and Rakhine State from September 8th to 14th. Military Junta arrested the civilians as human shields from Mindon Township, Magway Region, and Salingyi Township, […]
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Human Rights Violations took place in States and Regions from Sep 1 to 7, 2024 Military Junta Troop launched airstrikes and dropped bombs in the Sagaing Region, Mandalay Region, Magway Region, and Shan State from September 1st to 7th. The Military Junta threatened that they would launch airstrikes on the townships which they lost. The […]

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ND Burma

ND-Burma formed in 2004 in order to provide a way for Burma human rights organizations to collaborate on the human rights documentation process. The 13 ND-Burma member organizations seek to collectively use the truth of what communities in Burma have endured to advocate for justice for victims. ND-Burma trains local organizations in human rights documentation; coordinates members’ input into a common database using Martus, a secure open-source software; and engages in joint-advocacy campaigns.

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