Myanmar Junta Jails Magwe Chief Minister in Incitement Case

By The Irrawaddy 7 June 2021

Myanmar’s military regime on Monday sentenced the National League for Democracy (NLD)’s detained Magwe Region chief minister, Dr. Aung Moe Nyo, who is also the party’s secretary, to two years in prison on an incitement charge.

He is the first head of a state or region to be sentenced to a prison term by the regime since the Feb. 1 coup.

Dr. Aung Moe Nyo sits on the NLD’s secretariat board. He was charged under Article 505(b) of the Penal Code, accused of publishing statements declaring the junta’s State Administrative Council to be unlawful.

A regime court on Monday handed down the maximum penalty to the deposed chief minister, who has been detained for more than four months, an NLD member in Magwe Region said.

In addition to the case in which he was sentenced, Dr. Aung Moe Nyo faces an additional charge brought by the regime under the Natural Disaster Management Law, the party member said. If found guilty, he would likely face an additional three-year prison sentence.

The chief minister was reelected in his constituency in Magwe Region in the 2020 general election.

All 14 state and regional chief ministers appointed by the NLD were detained on Feb. 1 when the military staged a coup. Only the Chin State chief minister has been released; the 13 others are still in military custody or prison, or under house arrest.

Four other chief ministers have also been charged with incitement under Article 505(b).

The same charge was also brought by the regime against NLD chairwoman Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and vice chairs U Win Myint and Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, who were also arrested on Feb. 1.

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