Myanmar Junta Seizes Civilian Justice Minister’s Home
By The Irrawaddy 16 December 2021
Myanmar’s military junta has seized the house of the civilian National Unity Government (NUG) justice minister U Thein Oo in Mandalay.
The parallel government said junta soldiers on Wednesday morning raided the house in Sein Pann ward, Maha Aung Myay Township, and sealed it off.
U Thein Oo has called the junta’s ruling council an unlawful organization. In October, his ministry warned that judges and court staff working for the regime were committing crimes by handling the regime’s cases, jailing political detainees and neglecting evidence of fraud, torture and unlawful arrests.
The junta has started seizing the properties of those with links to the National League for Democracy (NLD) and NUG and other political activists.
The junta has branded the NUG, along with its parliamentary committee — known as the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) — and the people’s defense forces (PDFs) as terrorist organizations, and warned that anyone who makes contact with them will have their property seized and face prosecution under the Counterterrorism Law.
The CRPH was mostly formed by NLD lawmakers who won seats in the 2020 general election but were prevented from taking them up by the Feb. 1 coup. The CRPH set up the NUG, which includes ethnic groups, to rival the military regime. The PDFs were formed to organize armed resistance to the regime.
On Tuesday, NLD Lower House lawmaker U Win Naing’s house in the Kachin State town of Namti in Mogaung Township was sealed off by regime forces.
The NUG’s interim president, prime minister and ministers of federal affairs, health and education are also among those whose houses and assets were seized in recent months.
The NLD’s central working committee said at least 57 houses belonging to party officials, elected lawmakers and members had been seized by Nov. 30.
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