NLD party stalwart Win Htein requests bail from Naypyitaw court 

NLD party stalwart Win Htein requests bail from Naypyitaw court 

The 82-year-old’s lawyer asked that bail be granted due to Win Htein’s need for ongoing medical care

Win Htein requested bail from Naypyitaw court on March 5.

National League for Democracy (NLD) patron Win Htein requested that a Naypyitaw court release him from a detention center on bail on Friday, citing his deteriorating health. He awaits a trial for sedition charges brought against him by Myanmar’s ruling military council.

At 82 years old, Win Htein uses a wheelchair and is reliant on an oxygen supply to help him breathe. He suffers from hypertension, diabetes and heart and thyroid diseases, according to his lawyer, Min Min Soe. 

He is charged with violating Section 124-A of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

“We requested that the court hold the trial with him out on bail because he needs constant medical care for those health issues,” lawyer Min Min Soe told Myanmar Now.

 

 

At Win Htein’s second hearing on Friday at the Dekkhina District court in Naypyitaw, deputy judge Soe Naing said the court would make a decision regarding the bail request in the next hearing, scheduled for March 19. 

Lawyer Min Min Soe also said that officials at the Naypyitaw detention center have not allowed her to meet with her client or to obtain a copy of his medical records to submit to the court.

 

 

She said that the NLD’s legal team has also requested that the judge allow an open court for her client’s hearings. 

The outspoken party stalwart Win Htein was arrested at his home in Yangon on the evening of February 4. He had recently returned from Naypyitaw, where he gave media interviews in which he said the coup was a result of Min Aung Hlaing’s “personal ambition.” 

At his first hearing on February 19, Win Htein asked for a sentence to be handed down to him immediately, which was rejected by the judge.

A former army captain, Win Htein has been jailed twice for his resistance to previous military regimes, serving a total of nearly 20 years in prison before the political transition began in 2011.

In an interview with Myanmar Now before his arrest, Win Htein echoed a call made by Aung San Suu Kyi for public resistance to the coup, including “civil disobedience, non-violence and non-cooperation.” 

Suu Kyi has been hit with four charges. She stands accused of violating the Natural Disaster Management Law for breaching regulations aimed at curbing Covid-19 during last year’s election; the Export and Import Law for illegally importing walkie-talkies; Section 505b of the Penal Code for inciting crimes against the state; and the Telecommunications Law for possessing restricted communication devices without licenses.

The first two charges against her were brought at her first hearing in February and the latter two were added on March 1 at her second hearing. 

Suu Kyi is now facing a total of nine years imprisonment.  

President Win Myint was also charged under the Natural Disaster Management Law for greeting a crowd during an NLD campaign rally in Naypyitaw, as well as under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for inciting crimes against the state.

Hundreds of thousands of people across the country have taken to the streets to protest against the new military regime and call for the release of civilian leaders.

 

Junta arrests two more journalists in Naypyitaw

Those arrested include a BBC reporter and a former Mizzima correspondent. 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 19, 2021
Photojournalists take cover near the entrance of a monastery where military supporters gathered to attack protesters and media in Yangon on February 18 (EPA-EFE/LYNN BO BO)

A BBC journalist and a former Mizzima News reporter were arrested by men believed to be plainclothes officers in Naypyitaw on Friday afternoon, a family member confirmed.

BBC Burmese journalist Aung Thura was in front of the Dekkhina District court to report on a hearing for National League for Democracy patron Win Htein when he was arrested. Former Mizzima correspondent Than Htike Aung was with him at the time of the arrest.

No further details of the arrest or the reporters’ detention were known at the time of reporting, according to Aung Thura’s relative. 

“I saw some plainclothes officers dragging away a person in trousers into a car,” lawyer Min Min Soe, who was near the court at the time, told Myanmar Now. The man she saw is believed to be Than Htike Aung.  

“Two other officers in plainclothes were hassling another individual in a paso [traditional sarong for men] and glasses,” she said, referring to Aung Thura. “It was quite a scene so I don’t know what happened next.”

BBC News issued a statement on Friday afternoon saying that they are "doing everything [they] can" to find Aung Thura, who they described as being taken away by unidentified men.

“We call on the authorities to help locate him and confirm that he is safe,” the statement said.

As of March 16, a total of 38 journalists had been arrested or targeted for arrest since the February 1 coup. The latest arrests of the BBC and former Mizzima journalists push this number up to 40.  

Only 22 of these reporters have been released. Ten journalists have been charged with violating Section 505(a) of the penal code, which has been used against people who are seen as causing fear, spreading fake news, or agitating government employees. Under recent amendments to the law, the charges come with a three-year prison sentence if convicted.

Online news website The Irrawaddy has also been charged by the junta as violating the same statute for showing “disregard” for the armed forces in their reporting of the ongoing anti-regime protests.

Five publications, including Myanmar Now and Mizzima had their offices raided and their publishing licenses revoked earlier this month by the regime.

Editor's note: This story was updated to include the BBC's statement, which was not available at the original time of publishing.

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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KIA attacks police bases in Hpakant

The offensives come in the wake of deadly crackdowns against anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 18, 2021
A KIA soldier watches from an outpost in Kachin state in this undated file photo (Kachinwave) 

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) launched attacks against police bases in the jade mining region of Hpakant on Thursday morning, a local resident told Myanmar Now. 

The attacks targeted police battalions where soldiers were stationed near Nam Maw village in the Seik Muu village tract.

“There are Myanmar police battalions around Nam Maw,” a resident said. At least three bases were attacked, he added. 

A 41-year-old civilian in Seik Muu village injured his left hand during the clash, the Kachin-based Myitkyina News Journal reported.

The KIA has launched several offensives against the coup regime’s forces recently. Fighting has also been reported in Mogaung and Injangyang this month. 

Some 200 people fled the Injangyang villages of Gway Htaung and Tan Baung Yan on Monday after the KIA launched an offensive against the military there. 

The offenses began in the wake of deadly crackdowns against anti-coup protesters in Myitkyina. The KIA has warned the junta not to harm anti-coup protesters. 

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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Four shot dead, five injured during junta attack on protesters in Kalay on Wednesday 

The coup regime’s forces took the injured people away and locals do not know their whereabouts 

Myanmar Now
Published on Mar 18, 2021
Kalay residents move the body of a man who was shot dead on Wednesday (Supplied) 

Four young men were killed and five people were injured in the town of Kalay in Sagaing region on Wednesday as protesters continued their fight to topple the regime despite daily massacres across the country aimed at terrorizing them into submission. 

The Tahan Protest Group gathered in the town at around 10am and police and soldiers began shooting. One young man was shot dead on the spot as he tried to help people who were trapped amid gunfire, residents told Myanmar Now.   

The regime’s forces also shot at and chased fleeing protesters along roads and through narrow alleys, a resident said.

“The crowd of protesters dispersed but one person was shot dead while trying to rescue those trapped in the protest site,” the resident added. 

As the crowd dispersed, a man riding a motorcycle was shot outside a branch of KBZ Bank. “He also died,” the resident said. 

Despite the murders, protesters gathered again in the afternoon around 4pm. Police and soldiers started shooting again and killed two people. 

“They were shot dead while trying to set up barricades at the protest site. They were shot while trying to obstruct the army’s way as the army troops chased and shot the trapped protestors,” the resident said. 

The two who were killed in the morning were identified as Salai Kyong Lian Kye O, who was 25, and Kyin Khant Man, who was 27 and had three children. The identities of the other two have not yet been confirmed.

Five people were also injured and then taken away. Locals said they did not know where they had been taken.   

 

Myanmar Now

Myanmar Now is an independent news service providing free, accurate and unbiased news to the people of Myanmar in Burmese and English.
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